HQ 084652: Classification of a socket contact assembly exported to Mexicofor finishing

Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.

                              HQ 084652

                           August 10, 1989


CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 084652 TLS

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NOS.: 9802.00.80; 8538.90.0040

Mr. Robert L. Cohen
Litton-Winchester Electronics Division
275 Paterson Avenue
P.O. Box 444
Little Falls, New Jersey  07424

RE:  Classification of a socket contact assembly exported to Mexico
for finishing

Dear Mr. Cohen:

     You request a ruling on the proper classification of the socket
contact assembly under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States Annotated (HTSUSA).  Your letter dated May 1, 1989 has been
referred to our office for this purpose.

FACTS:

     The socket contact assembly is comprised of contact blanks and
heat-treated retaining clips.  The sub-assembly is partially put
together in the United States, where it is plated.  It is then sent
to Mexico where a contact spring is attached.  The final product is
shipped back to the United States to be used in a variety of
electrical connector assembly operations.

ISSUE:

     Does the contact sub-assembly qualify for tariff treatment as a
United States article sent to a foreign country in a condition ready
for assembly as provided for under HTSUSA subheading 9802.00.80;

     Is the completed socket contact assembly properly classifiable
under heading 8538, HTSUSA, covering parts suitable for use solely
or principally with the apparatus of heading 8535, 8536, or 8537.


LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI) govern classification
of products under HTSUSA.  GRI 1 states that classification is to be
determined according to the terms of the-2-


headings and any relative section or chapter notes.  Subheading
9802.00.80 covers articles assembled abroad in whole or in part of
fabricated components, the product of the United States, which (a)
were exported in condition ready for assembly without further
fabrication, (b) have not lost their physical identity in such
articles by change in form, shape or otherwise, and (c) have not
been advanced in value or improved in condition abroad except by
being assembled and except by operations incidental to the assembly
process such as cleaning, lubricating and painting.  The assemblage
of the socket contact assembly is completed in Mexico after all
other stages of assembly are finished.  The components used are
products of the United States.  The final component to be assembled
in Mexico, the contact spring, is in a condition ready for assembly,
as is the contact sub-assembly when exported.  No modifications were
done to either product before the final assembly.  Once assembled,
the entire package has the fit and form of all the components put
together without disrupting or altering their original forms.  As
the parts come together to form the whole, the final product
inevitably increases in value over the aggregate of the separate
parts.  During the entire process, from the initial stages of
assembly in the United States to the final steps in Mexico, the
socket contact assembly retains the character and composition of a
product covered under subheading 9802.00.80 and therefore can be
properly classified thereunder.

     The socket contact assembly is intended to be used in
electrical connector assembly operations.  As the name implies, the
connector assembly is an electrical apparatus for making connections
to or in electrical circuits.  This is covered under heading 8535,
HTSUSA.  Heading 8538 covers, among other things, parts suitable for
use solely or principally with the apparatus of heading 8535.  The
socket contact assembly falls within this category.  It is properly
classifiable under heading 8535.

HOLDING:

     The contact sub-assembly is eligible for tariff treatment under
subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUSA, as an article assembled abroad in
part of fabricated components, the product of the United States,
which were exported in a condition ready for assembly without
further fabrication, having not lost their physical identity by
change in form, shape, or otherwise, and having not been advanced in
value or improved in condition abroad except by being assembled and
except by operations incidental to the assembly.

     The socket contact assembly is properly classified under 



                                 -3-


subheading 8538.90.0040, HTSUSA, as a part suitable for use solely
or principally with an apparatus of heading 8535, specifically an
electrical connector assembly operation.

                                Sincerely,



                                John Durant, Director