The tariff classification of car radios and cassette combination players manufactured in the United States.

NY A82271 May 10, 1996 CLA-2-85:RR:NC:MA:101 A82271 CATEGORY: Classification Mr. John E. Cipriano Assistant General Counsel Mitsubishi Electric America, Inc. Law Department 800 Biermann Court Mt. Prospect, IL 60056-2173 RE: The tariff classification of car radios and cassette combination players manufactured in the United States. Dear Mr. Cipriano: In your letter dated April 10, 1996 you requested a tariff classification ruling. You have submitted a request on behalf of Mitsubishi Electric Manufacturing Cincinnati, Inc. (MELMAC). You have requested an advance ruling under Article 509 of the North American Free Trade Agreement and 19CFR 181.91. The good that is the subject of this request is a car radio and cassette combination player. MELMAC seeks a ruling that the combination player that is to be manufactured later this year at the company's factory in Maysville, Kentucky, using certain imported parts, components and materials, will qualify as an "originating good" under General Notes 12 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States and the NAFTA Regulations on Rules of Origin. The US manufactured radios and combination players will be exported to Canada where they will be installed in automobiles by original equipment manufacturers. You wish a determination from this office as to the status of the goods' "origin." Article 509 of the NAFTA states in pertinent part that: Each Party shall, through its customs administration, provide for the expeditious issuance of written advance rulings, prior to importation of a good into its territory, to an importer in its territory or an exporter or a producer in the territory of another Party, on the basis of the facts and circumstances presented by such importer, exporter or producer of the good. (Emphasis supplied). Thus, a Party may issue a NAFTA advance ruling to an importer in its territory, or an exporter or a producer in the territory of another Party, prior to an importation of a good into its territory. The term "good" in this context is a reference to the article which is the subject of the NAFTA advance ruling request. In addition, Article VII, Regulatory Standards for Implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (standards document), issued pursuant to Article 511 of the NAFTA, indicates that a Party shall issue an advance ruling to a producer in the territory of another Party of a "material" that will be used in the production of a "good" imported into the United States. Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 181) implements the provisions of Article 509 and the standards document. Pursuant to 19 CFR 181.92(b)(5), an importer in the United States, an exporter or producer of a "good" in Canada or Mexico, or a Canadian or Mexican producer of certain "materials" which will be used in the production of a "good" imported into the United States, may request a NAFTA advance ruling from U.S. Customs. Under the facts set forth above, Mitsubishi is not an importer in the United States of the finished radios and combination players. Also, neither the finished radios and players nor any of their components are "materials" produced in Mexico or Canada which will be used for the production of a "good" imported into the United States. In view of the foregoing, the circumstances of this transaction do not permit the issuance of a NAFTA advance ruling by the United States. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 177). If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Robert DeSoucey at 212-466-5667. Sincerely, Roger J. Silvestri Director National Commodity Specialist Division