HQ 083126: Rubber coated stainless steel sheet. Headquarters letter 082295 revoked.

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 083126

                                   February 13, 1990


            CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 083126 APS 830922

            CATEGORY:  Classification

            TARIFF NO.:  7326.90.90, 7220.90.00, 4016.99.50

            Mr. Kenneth G. Weigel Esq.
            Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
            1800 M Street, N.W.
            Washington, D.C.  20036

            RE:  Rubber coated stainless steel sheet.  Headquarters letter
            082295 revoked.

            Dear Mr. Weigel

                 This decision pertains to your request for
            reconsideration of our letter 082295 of June 10, 1988.

            FACTS

                 The merchandise is a flat rolled stainless steel sheet
            measuring 210mm x 300mm.  It is coated with a nitrile
            butadiene vulcanized rubber and is used to manufacture
            automotive head gaskets for spark ignition internal combustion
            engines.

                 You further describe the product as follows:

                      The rubber withstands heat because of its
                      being bound to steel.  The rubber used in
                      this product can withstand heat of up to
                      180` C. or 356` F. This is possible because
                      the rubber is firmly adhered to the surface
                      of the stainless steel with a coating
                      thickness of about 30 microns.  Because of
                      this adhesion, the properties of the rubber,
                      such as tensile strength and elongation,
                      will not deteriorate in temperatures of up
                      to 180` C., although alone the rubber
                      deteriorates at approximately 120` C.

                      The product is specically designed and
                      manufactured to be used for the production















                                         - 2 -


                      of gaskets.  Its use  elsewhere is
                      economically prohibitive.  One of the most
                      important features of the article is that
                      its surface is soft so the gasket can
                      obtain a good seal.  Stainless steel alone
                      cannot be used as a gasket because it is
                      too hard to conform to the surface of the
                      flange and to form the required seal.  By
                      the stainless steel with this thin layer
                      of rubber, in ideal article for the
                      production of gaskets has been created.
                      The article has the strength of steel and
                      the softness of rubber. This product has
                      been developed exclusively for gasket use,
                      and its uses are quite different from those
                      of stainless steel sheet.  The rubber
                      coating is not for protection of the steel
                      sheet.

            ISSUE:

                 The first issue to be decided is whether coating rubber
            is a surface treatment or finishing operation of a basic steel
            mill product or whether coating causes a new product to be
            created which is no longer a basic shape.  If the former,
            classificaiton will be under subheading 7220.90.00, Harmonized
            Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) as further worked
            stainless steel.  If the latter, classification will be under
            subheading 7326.90.90 as articles of steel or 4016.99.50 as
            other articles of vulcanized rubber other than hard rubber.

                 If the material is determined to be other than a basic
            shape then the issue is whether the essential character  is
            imparted by the rubber or the stainless steel.

            LAW AND ANALYSIS:

                 We are satisfied from the information you have provided
            that coating with rubber creates a new product different from
            a "further worked" basic mill shape.

                 Finished mill products may be subjected to further
            finishing treatments and such treatments do not affect
            classification as a flat rolled product.  However, these
            treatments must be for improving the properties or appearance
















                                         - 3 -


            of the metal, protecting it against rusting and corrosion, and
            so forth.  Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System
            Explanatory Notes, Volume 3, at page 981.  Therefore, even if
            coating with rubber were to be considered a surface treatment
            such as coating with plastics, in this case it would not be
            for improving the properties or appearance of the metal,
            protecting it, or the like.

                 It is clear from your description that the properties of
            the metal remain the same but the properties of the rubber,
            mainly resistance to heat, are improved by combining the two
            materials.  Thus the treatment will affect classification as a
            flat rolled product.

                 The stainless steel sheets are goods consisting of more
            than one material (rubber and steel) and classification shall
            be according to the principles of HTS General Rule of
            Interpretation (GRI) 3. HTS GRI 2(b).

                 We consider the sheets to be composite goods for purposes
            of GRI 3(a) which provides that when two or more headings each
            refer to part only of the materials contained in a composite
            good, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in
            relation to those goods.  The two equally specific headings
            are for other articles of vulcanized rubber in heading
            4016.99.50 and other articles of steel in heading 7326.90.90.

                 GRI 3(b) provides that composite goods shall be
            classified as if they consisted of the material which gives
            them their essential character.  However, it is our
            determination that neither the rubber nor the steel gives the
            sheets their essential character.  The main characteristics of
            the rubber, resistance to heat and the ability to flow into
            and seal flaws in the engine block and head are equalled by
            the support for the rubber, the necessary rigidity, and the
            ability to be cut to various shapes provided by the steel.

                 Thus, we find classification must be accomplished
            according to GRI 3(c) which provides that when goods cannot be
            classified by reference to rule 3(a) or 3(b) they shall be
            classified under the heading that appears last in numerical
            order.



















                                         - 4 -

            HOLDING:

                 The rubber coated stainless steel sheets are classifiable
            under heading 7326.90.90, HTS.

            EFFECT ON OTHER CASES:

                 Letter 082295, June 10, 1988, was based on incomplete
            information regarding the product and is revoked.


                                       Sincerely,





                                       John Durant, Director
                                       Commercial Rulings Division











































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