The tariff classification, country of origin, and eligibility of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of an insulating panel

N360891May 13, 2026CLA-2-87:OT:RR:NC:N2:206
CATEGORY: Classification, Origin, Trade Programs
TARIFF NO.: 8708.29.5160
John HindleEVinsulate5458 Sunnidale-Tosorontio TLNew Lowell L0M1N0CanadaRE: The tariff classification, country of origin, and eligibility of the United States-Mexico-CanadaAgreement (USMCA) of an insulating panelDear Mr. Hindle:In your letter dated
April 21, 2026
, you requested a binding ruling on the tariff classification, country oforigin, and eligibility of an insulating panel under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).The article under consideration is a an EVinsulate insulating panel (SKU: EVGL-MODELY), which is anaftermarket panel designed specifically for Tesla Model Y. The insulating panel is a sealed and removeablepolycarbonate panel that is attached to the bottom of the electric vehicle’s glass roof to create a double panewindow. While driving, the temperature difference between the uninsulated glass and the insulated glass invery cold conditions is typically 20°C. The panel is held in place using a nano tape seal which is attachedaround the outer edge of the glass.You state that the Plaskolite Tuffac polycarbonate sheet of United States origin is sent to Canada where it iscut to a specific shape and size by a guide router. A slight bend is made in the plastic around the outer ½" ofthe panel using a hand tool. This is where the double-sided tape is attached and is needed to match the angleof the vehicle’s glass roof. After the panel is routed to shape and the bend around the edge is made, adouble-sided adhesive nano tape of China origin is manually applied to one side of the insulating panel. Afterthe double-sided tape is attached to the panel, it is complete and is ready to be rolled, boxed, and shipped tothe United States.
Classification:The applicable subheading for EVinsulate insulating panel (SKU: EVGL-MODELY) will be 8708.29.5160,Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Parts and accessories of themotor vehicles of heading 8701 to 8705: Other parts and accessories of bodies (including cabs): Other: Other:Other.” The general rate of duty will be 2.5 percent ad valorem.The duties cited above are current as of this ruling’s issuance. 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 providedat https://hts.usitc.gov/.This ruling does not address the applicability of any additional duties, taxes, fees, exactions and/or othercharges, which may apply to the goods discussed herein. This includes, but is not limited to, tariffs and otherduties as provided for in Subchapter III to Chapter 99, HTSUS.Thus, for example, in addition to the classification stated above, the merchandise covered by this ruling may also need to be reported with eitherthe Chapter 99 provision under which an additional tariff applies or one of the Chapter 99 provisionscovering exceptions to such tariffs.For further information to assist with the importation process, please refer to the frequently updated CargoSystems Messaging Service (CSMS) messages at https://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated/cargo-systems-messaging-service and the Trade Remedies page at https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/trade-remedies.Country of Origin:Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that unless excepted, everyarticle of foreign origin imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly,indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as toindicate to the ultimate purchaser in the United States, the English name of the country of origin of thearticle. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able toknow by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product.The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, byknowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking shouldinfluence his will.” See United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940).Section 134.1(b), CBP Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” as the country ofmanufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further workor material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to rendersuch other country the “country of origin” within the meaning of the marking laws and regulations.Pursuant to section 102.0, interim regulations, related to the marking rules, tariff-rate quotas, and otherUSMCA provisions, published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2021 (86 FR 35566), the rules set forth insections 102.1 through 102.18 and 102.20 determine the country of origin for marking purposes with respectto goods imported from Canada and Mexico. Section 102.11 provides a required hierarchy for determiningthe country of origin of a good for marking purposes, with the exception of textile and apparel goods whichare subject to the provisions of 19 CFR 102.21. See 19 CFR 102.11.Applied in sequential order, 19 CFR 102.11(a) provides that the country of origin of a good is the country inwhich:(1) The good is wholly obtained or produced;(2) The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or
(3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariffclassification set out in Part 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, andall other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied.The panel is neither “wholly obtained or produced” nor “produced exclusively from domestic materials.”Therefore, paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) cannot be used to determine the country of origin of the panel, andparagraph (a)(3) must be applied next to determine the origin of the finished article. As stated above, thepanel is classified under subheading 8708.29, HTSUS. The tariff shift requirement in Part 102.20 for thepanel at issue states:A change to subheading 8708.29 from any other subheading, except from subheading 8708.95.The polycarbonate sheets are classified in heading 3920, HTSUS, while the nano tape is an article of 3919,HTSUS. As a result, the tariff shift is met and the country of origin of the EVinsulate insulating panel (SKU:EVGL-MODELY) will be Canada.USMCA:The USMCA was signed by the Governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada on November 30,2018. The USMCA was approved by the U.S. Congress with the enactment on January 29, 2020, of theUSMCA Implementation Act, Pub. L. 116-113, 134 Stat. 11, 14 (19 U.S.C. § 4511(a)). General Note ("GN")11 of the HTSUS implements the USMCA. GN 11(b) sets forth the criteria for determining whether a good isan originating good for purposes of the USMCA. GN 11(b) states:For the purposes of this note, a good imported into the customs territory of the United States from theterritory of a USMCA country, as defined in subdivision (l) of this note, is eligible for the preferentialtariff treatment provided for in the applicable subheading and quantitative limitations set forth in thetariff schedule as a "good originating in the territory of a USMCA country" only if-(i) the good is a good wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or moreUSMCA countries;(ii) the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries,exclusively from originating materials;(iii) the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countriesusing non-originating materials, if the good satisfies all applicable requirements set forth inthis note (including the provisions of subdivision (o));Since the panel contains non-originating ingredients, it is not considered a good wholly obtained or producedentirely in a USMCA country under GN 11(b)(i), nor is the product produced exclusively from originatingmaterials per GN 11(b)(ii). Thus, we must determine whether the product qualifies under GN 11(b)(iii). Aspreviously noted, the panel is classified under subheadings 8708.29, HTSUS. The applicable rule of originfor goods classified under subheading insert, HTSUS, is in GN 11(o)/8708.29, HTSUS, which provides:25. For any other good of subheading 8708.29 for use in a passenger vehicle, light truck or heavytruck:(A) A change to subheading 8708.29 from any other heading; or(B) No change in tariff classification to a good of subheading 8708.29, provided there is aregional value content of not less than 70percent under the net cost method. 26. For any other good of subheading 8708.29:
(A) A change to subheading 8708.29 from any other heading; or(B) No change in tariff classification to a good of subheading 8708.29, provided there is aregional value content of not less than 50percent under the net cost method. The subheading rule states, in pertinent parts, “f the goodis any other good for use in a passenger vehicle[i] or light truck, Article 3.4 of the automotive appendix applies. If the good is for use in a heavytruck, Article 4.2 of the automotive appendix applies.Here, the insulating panel is used in passenger vehicles. Therefore, Article 3.4 of the automotive appendixapplies, which states:Notwithstanding Article 2 (Product-Specific Rules of Origin for Vehicles) and the Product-SpecificRules of Origin in Annex 4-B, each Party shall provide that the regional value content requirement fora part listed in Table B of this Appendix that is for use in a passenger vehicle or light truck is:70 percent under the net cost method or 80 percent under the transaction value method, if thecorresponding rule includes a transaction value method, beginning on January 1, 2023 or threeyears after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, whichever is later, and thereafter.Table B lists 8708.29 as “[o]ther parts and accessories of bodies (including cabs) of motor vehicles(excluding body stampings).” As such, the insulating panel is listed in Table B.However, in addition to the provisions of the automotive appendix and GN 11, as indicated in GN 11(a)(i),the trilaterally agreed USMCA Uniform Regulations in Appendix A of 19 C.F.R. Part 182 provide furtherguidance on the interpretation and application of the USMCA rules of origin. The Note to Table B in theUniform Regulations clarifies that:The Regional Value Content requirements set out in sections 13 or 14 or Schedule I (PSRO Annex)apply to a good for use as “original equipment” in the production of a passenger vehicle. For an“aftermarket part”, the applicable product-specific rule of origin set out in section 13 or Schedule I(PSRO Annex) is the alternative that includes the phrase “for any other good.”Accordingly, the Uniform Regulations draw a distinction between aftermarket parts and automotive parts thatare used as original equipment in the production of a vehicle. See Section 12(1) (“aftermarket part means agood that is not for use as original equipment in the production of passenger vehicles, light trucks or heavytrucks as defined in these Regulations.”). Here, as stated above, the insulating panel will be used as anaftermarket part. In accordance with the Note to Table B, since the merchandise is used as aftermarket parts,we look to the applicable product-specific rule of origin which is the rule in section 13 or Schedule I (PSROAnnex) of the Uniform Regulations instead of the RVC.Schedule I provides that “[t]his schedule is deemed to be the contents of Sections A, B and C of Annex 4-Bof the Agreement, as implemented in General Note 11 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the UnitedStates…” Here, section 13 of the Uniform Regulations states,For any other good of subheading 8708.29 for use as original equipment in any othervehicle or as an aftermarket part:(6) A change to subheading 8708.29 from any other heading; or(7) No required change in tariff classification to subheading 8708.29, provided there is a regional value content of not less than 50 percent under the net cost method.
Based on the information provided, no non-originating materials are classified in the same heading.Accordingly, provided that all other requirements are met, the aftermarket insulating panel will be eligible forpreferential tariff treatment under the USMCA.The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description asidentified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations(CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of theinformation furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate andcomplete in every material respect. In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do notconform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs andBorder Protection (CBP) and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2.Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodicverification by CBP.This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border ProtectionRegulations (19 C.F.R. 177).A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documentsfiled at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, please contactNational Import Specialist Liana Alvarez at [email protected].
Sincerely,
(for)James P. ForkanDirectorNational Commodity Specialist Division