The tariff classification of cable clips and staples from Taiwan

N073595 September 2, 2009 CLA-2-39:OT:RR:E:NC:N4:421 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 3925.90.0000 Ms. Charlotte Chowning Jasco Products Co. LLC 10 E. Memorial Road Oklahoma City, OK 73114 RE: The tariff classification of cable clips and staples from Taiwan Dear Ms. Chowning: In your letter dated August 26, 2009, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Photographs of item #50979 were included with your request. The product is an assortment of three types of fittings designed to mount cables along walls or baseboard and secure them in place. The assortment includes twenty plastic cable clips described as ¼ inch coaxial cable staples. This clip is made of molded plastic roughly in the shape of the letter "u" and has a pre-installed zinc plated iron nail embedded in a tubular channel next to the straight edge. The cable fits into the open area of the “u” and the nail is secured into the wall to hold the cable in place. The assortment includes seven larger plastic cable clips described as ½ inch plastic staples. This clip is designed to secure ½ inch 14/2 and 12/2 cable wire. This style is similar in shape and construction to the coaxial cable staples described above except the “u” shape is wider and flatter, and there is a tubular channel next to each leg of the “u” with a zinc plated iron nail in each of the two channels. The assortment also includes twenty ½ inch steel staples. The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff System provide guidance in the interpretation of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System at the international level. Explanatory Note X to GRI 3(b) provides that the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" means goods that: (a) consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings; (b) consist of articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. Goods classifiable under GRI 3(b) are classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, which may be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the article. This office considers item 50979 to be a set for tariff classification purposes, with the essential character imparted by the plastic cable clips. The applicable subheading for item 50979 will be 3925.90.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for builders’ ware of plastics, not elsewhere specified or included: other. The rate of duty will be 5.3 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 Joan Mazzola at (646) 733-3023. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division