RE: The tariff classification, country of origin, and eligibility of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of a safety gate

U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Commodity Specialist Division One World Trade Center, Suite 51.201 New York, NY 10007 U.S. Customs and Border Protection N364328 September 9, 2026 OT:RR:NC:N4:422 CATEGORY: Classification, Origin, Trade Programs TARIFF NO.: 7323.99.9040 Rachel Situ Titan CHB Inc. 20955 Pathfinder Road, Ste 222 Diamond Bar, CA 91765 RE: The tariff classification, country of origin, and eligibility of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of a safety gate Dear Ms. Situ: In your letter dated August 14, 2026, on behalf of your client, Fair Play International Inc., you requested a binding ruling on the tariff classification, country of origin, and the eligibility of a safety gate under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The item is a safety gate, item #SGS7V266. The gate measures approximately 54 inches long by 1.18 inches wide by 30 inches high. The safety gate is made of circular and square steel tubes, plastic locking mechanisms, plastic end caps, and zinc-coated steel screws. The item incorporates an auto-close mechanism, double-lock safety release, and adjustable mounting configurations. The gate can be pressure-mounted or hardware-mounted and is designed for stairways and doorways in a home. The safety gate restrains a child or domestic pets within a room of the household. You have indicated that the steel tubes, the plastic locking mechanisms, the plastic end caps, and the zinc-coated steel screws are of Chinese origin and are then shipped to Mexico for manufacturing. The manufacturing operations performed in Mexico include tube cutting, tube bending, hole punching, frame welding, surface polishing, zinc coating/galvanization, powder coating, final assembly, inspection, and packaging of the steel safety gate. Classification: The safety gate is a composite good comprised of different materials that are classifiable in different headings. Classification of merchandise under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) taken in order. GRI 3(b) of the HTSUS provides, in relevant part, that composite goods which cannot be classified by reference to GRI 3(a) shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential
character. The steel accounts for the vast majority of the weight and value for the safety gate. The essential character of the subject gate is imparted by the steel frame, which is the predominant structural material and allows the item to be installed and adjusted in width. In accordance with GRI 3(b), the safety gate will be classified in heading 7323, which provides for table, kitchen or other household articles and parts thereof, of iron or steel. The applicable subheading for the safety gate, item #SGS7V266 will be 7323.99.9040, HTSUS, which provides for “Table, kitchen or other household articles and parts thereof, of iron or steel; iron or steel wool; pot scourers and scouring or polishing pads, gloves and the like, of iron or steel: Other: Other: Not coated or plated with precious metal: Other. Gates for confining children or pets.” The general rate of duty will be 3.4 percent ad valorem. Country of Origin: Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that unless excepted, every article 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 to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the United States, the English name of the country of origin of the article. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know 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, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will.” See United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940). Part 134 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Regulations (19 CFR 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.1(b), CBP Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” as the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such 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, other USMCA provisions, published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2021 (86 FR 35566), the rules set forth in sections 102.1 through 102.18 and 102.20 determine the country of origin for marking purposes with respect to goods imported from Canada and Mexico. Section 102.11 provides a required hierarchy for determining the country of origin of a good for marking purposes, with the exception of textile and apparel goods which are 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 in which: (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 tariff classification set out in part 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied. The subject safety gate is neither “wholly obtained or produced” nor “produced exclusively from domestic materials.” Therefore, paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) cannot be used to determine its country of origin, and paragraph (a)(3) must be applied next to determine the origin of the finished article. As noted above, the safety gate is classified under subheading 7323.99.9040, HTSUS. The tariff shift requirement in Part 102.20 for subheading 7323 states in pertinent part:
A change to heading 7322 through 7323 from any other heading, including another heading within that group… Here, the individual components and materials used in the production of the safety gate are classified under various tariff headings other than heading 7323, HTSUS. Upon manufacturing and assembly in Mexico, the finished product is classified under subheading 7323.99.9040, HTSUS, as a household article of iron or steel, having an individual function. Therefore, the safety gate meets the tariff shift. As a result, Part 102.11(a) applies. Accordingly, the country of origin of the safety gate for marking purposes will be Mexico. 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 the USMCA 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 is an 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 the territory of a USMCA country, as defined in subdivision (l) of this note, is eligible for the preferential tariff treatment provided for in the applicable subheading and quantitative limitations set forth in the tariff 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 more USMCA 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 countries using non-originating materials, if the good satisfies all applicable requirements set forth in this note (including the provisions of subdivision (o)); Since the safety gate contains non-originating materials, from China (i.e., steel tubes, the plastic locking mechanisms, the plastic end caps, and the zinc-coated steel screws), they are not considered a good wholly obtained or produced entirely in a USMCA country under GN 11(b)(i), nor are the products produced exclusively from originating materials per GN 11(b)(ii). Thus, we must determine whether the product qualifies under GN 11(b)(iii). The safety gate is classified under 7323.99.9040, HTSUS. The applicable rule of origin for goods classified under subheading 7323.99.9040, HTSUS, is in GN 11(o), for Chapter 73, which provides “[a] change to headings 7322 through 7323 from any heading outside that group.” Since all the foreign-origin parts are classified outside of subheading 7323.99, HTSUS, the requisite tariff shift rule is met, and the finished safety gate is considered an originating good under the USMCA upon compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and agreements and is eligible for preferential treatment. The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified 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 the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs and Border 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 periodic verification by CBP.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border Protection 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, please contact National Import Specialist Dana L. Salas at [email protected]. Sincerely, (for) James P. Forkan Director National Commodity Specialist Division