Request for reconsideration of HQ 222507 issued August 20, 1990 under 19 U.S.C. 1313(a)

HQ 222780 January 8, 1991 DRA-4-CO:R:C:E 222780 CB CATEGORY: Drawback Philip Yale Simons, Esq. Freeman, Wasserman & Schneider 90 John Street New York, New York 10038 RE: Request for reconsideration of HQ 222507 issued August 20, 1990 under 19 U.S.C. 1313(a) Dear Mr. Simons: This is in reply to your letter of October 17, 1990, on behalf of Dole Packaged Foods Company, a division of Castle and Cook Inc. In our ruling HQ 222507, dated August 20, 1990, issued to your client's broker RADIX International, Inc., we were of the opinion that the mere addition of an anti-foaming agent to a batch of imported concentrated pineapple juice precluded the application of same condition drawback. You submitted additional facts and requested a ruling whether they constitute a manufacture for drawback (19 U.S.C. 1313(a)). FACTS: The merchandise in issue is imported concentrated pineapple juice processed by a blending process to obtain a concentrate with a specific degree Brix and acid content. In addition, dimethylpolysiloxane is added as an anti-foaming agent to control foaming when the concentrate is further processed into single strength juice. ISSUE: Whether blending different batches of imported concentrated pineapple juice to make a concentrate with specific Brix and acid values and adding an anti-foaming agent to the blended pineapple juice concentrate results in a product which is eligible for drawback under 19 U.S.C. 1313(a)? LAW AND ANALYSIS: Section 313(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1313(a)), provides that upon the exportation of articles manufactured or produced in the United States with the use of imported merchandise, ninety-nine percent of the duties paid upon the merchandise so used shall be refunded as drawback. -2- In C.S.D. 83-90, Customs Headquarters found that the blending of oils to a batch of designated concentrated orange juice for manufacturing (COJM) was a manufacture or production for drawback purposes. The oils were blended solely to mask the "cardboard off flavor" of the concentrate. Similarly, in the instant case, the blending of the concentrates to obtain specific Brix and acid values appears to change the character of the blendstocks from the imported pineapple juice. Further, the addition of the anti-foaming agent is required in order to produce a commercially accepted product. You have stated that the presence of foam prevents the proper sealing of the chilled cartons into which the juice is packaged which results in leakage and accelerated product degradation. Thus, since the pineapple juice concentrate exported is a commercially accepted product whereas the imported juice is not, there is a new and different article. Therefore, the pineapple juice concentrate exported is eligible for manufacturing drawback. HOLDING: The blending of concentrates to change Brix and acid values, together with the blending of an anti-foaming agent to pineaple juice concentrate, in order to produce a commercially accepted product, constitutes a manufacture for purposes of the drawback law under 19 U.S.C. 1313(a). You should submit, for approval, a drawback contract which describes the manufacturing process in detail. Sincerely, William G. Rosoff, Chief Entry Rulings Branch