The tariff classification of memory card connectors from Taiwan.

N023008 February 26, 2008 CLA-2-85:OT:RR:NC:1:110 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8536.90.8085 Ms. Janet C. Wallett FCI USA, Inc. 825 Old Trail Road Etters, PA 17319 RE: The tariff classification of memory card connectors from Taiwan. Dear Ms. Wallett: In your letter dated January 28, 2008, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The merchandise under consideration consists of five memory card connectors. The five connectors are identified as Smart Plus B Assembly/55640-23201, T-Flash Card Header/10056619-101LF, Smart Card Reader Assembly/10010556-001, Smart Plus B Assembly/10026297-004LF and the SD Card Manual Type/10026206-002LF. A sample of the Smart Plus B Assembly was submitted with your ruling request. The Smart Plus B Assembly is a card slot designed for a PCMCIA memory card. This card slot is a plastic housing with a spring loaded card ejection mechanism. It is designed to be installed, internally, into any product requiring a PCMCIA card slot (for example, PDAs, Personal Computers, Notebooks, Point of Sale Terminals, Set-top Boxes, MP3 Players, Cellular Phones, Digital Cameras, DVD Players, TVs, etc.). It consists of a metal bracket within a plastic sleeve forming a rectangular housing measuring approximately 2½ inches wide by ? inch high and 3½ inches deep. Inside the housing is a single printed circuit board with 8 metal contact pins and a short flat ribbon cable for connecting it to the circuitry of any of the machines mentioned above. There are no active components within this device, it simply completes a passive electrical connection between a memory card and the host device. In operation, the host device initiates and sends an electrical charge to the controller chip located on the memory card, thereby providing the power necessary for the memory card to read or write information. The T-Flash Card Header, Smart Card Reader Assembly, Smart Plus B Assembly and the SD Card Manual Type are all devices similar to the Smart Plus B Assembly described above. Each card slot connector is designed for different smart card media applications (i.e. Memory Sticks, SD Memory Cards, MiniSD Card, etc.). The applicable subheading for the Smart Plus B Assembly, T-Flash Card Header, Smart Card Reader Assembly, Smart Plus B Assembly and the SD Card Manual Type will be 8536.90.8085, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making connections to or in electrical circuits…for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 V: Other Apparatus: Other: Other.” The general rate of duty will be 2.7 percent ad valorem. Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Thomas Campanelli at 646-733-3016. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division