HQ 085760: Unassembled bridge sections; structural girders and beams built up from steel plate; substantial transformation; Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)

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 085760

                                    January 25, 1990

             CLA-2 CO:R:CV:G:  085760 JLV; 845769

             CATEGORY:  Classification

             TARIFF NO.:  7308.10.00

             Mr. Matthew Chang
             C. Itoh & Co. (America) Inc.
             335 Madison Avenue
             New York, New York 10017

             RE:  Unassembled bridge sections; structural girders and beams
                  built up from steel plate; substantial transformation;
                  Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)

             Dear Mr. Chang:

                  In a letter of September 26, 1989, on behalf of C. Itoh &
             Co. (America) Inc., you request a ruling on the tariff
             classification and rate of duty, country of origin, and GSP
             status of certain disassmbled bridge sections.  This letter is
             our decision on the issues.

             FACTS:

                  Steel plate, manufactured in Japan, will be shipped to
             the Philippines and fabricated into bridge sections.  The
             processing performed in the Philippines will consist of the
             following:  layout and flame cutting of top and bottom
             flanges, webs, and vertical and horizontal stiffeners; welding
             the flanges to the top and bottom of each web, and then the
             stiffeners to the web to form built-up girders or beams;
             drilling of the ends of these structurals; temporary assembly
             of sections and then disassembly after painting and marking.

                  The built-up structurals are girders or beams which, upon
             assembly, form the skeleton or structural framework for
             individual sections of decking.  You call the various
             assemblies "bridge sections" which will be joined together to
             form the superstructure framework of a plate girder type
             bridge.  These sections will be shipped unassembled; each
             shipment will include complete, unassembled sections.

                  You state that the cost of fabrication in the Philippines
             will be 37.5 percent of the total cost of the goods.  The
             actual breakdown of the costs of processing was not submitted.











                                          - 2 -

             ISSUES:

                  1.  Are the unassembled articles classified as bridge
             sections?

                  2.  Is the steel plate substantially transformed in the
             Philippines for purposes of country of origin of the articles
             to be imported into the United States?

                  3.  Do the articles qualify for duty-free treatment under
             the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)?

             LAW AND ANALYSIS:

                  Structures and parts of structures of iron or steel, and
             plates, rods, angles, shapes, sections, tubes and the like of
             iron or steel, prepared for use in structures, are covered by
             heading 7308, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
             Annotated (HTSUS).  Subheading 7308.10 provides for bridges
             and bridge sections; subheading 7308.90 provides for the
             products of heading 7308 other than bridges and bridge
             sections and the products of subheadings 7308.20, 7308.30, and
             7308.40, which are not pertinent to this case.

                  The classification issue is whether the imported articles
             are bridge sections within the meaning of subheading 7308.10,
             HTSUSA; if not, then are they classifiable as other parts of
             structures or as shapes or sections prepared for use in
             structures within subheading 7308.90, HTSUSA.  General Rule of
             Interpretation (GRI) 1 applies.  GRI 6, HTSUSA.  As used in
             heading 7308, the term "bridge-section" is an exemplar of the
             type of structures and parts of structures provided for in
             heading 7308.  Structural supports, such as pillars and
             columns are also used as exemplars in heading 7308.  Girders
             and beams are structural supports which, like pillars and
             columns, are load-bearing parts of structures.  Therefore, we
             conclude that a bridge section is an identifiable bridge part
             which constitutes an assemblage of structural members, and
             that a simple built-up girder, by itself, does not normally
             constitute a bridge section as that term is used in heading
             7308, HTSUSA.

                  In this case, the imported articles constitute dis-
             assembled, identifiable sections of a bridge superstructure.
             They are to be temporarily assembled for purposes of testing
             and for coding so that the components for each section can be
             properly assembled when the bridge is constructed.  These
             distinct sections, even though they may lack the fasteners and
             some minor steel components, have the essential character













                                          - 3 -

             of articles identifiable and known as bridge sections.
             Furthermore, the sections are shipped in a unassembled form
             which is not uncommon for these kinds of large structural
             articles, and the assembly after importation is by riveting,
             bolting, and welding.  Therefore, these unassembled sections
             are classifiable as bridge sections in subheading 7308.10.00,
             HTSUSA.  GRI 2(a), HTSUSA.

                  The cutting of steel plate into distinct parts of built-
             up structural components, i.e., the flanges, webs, and
             stiffeners, and the welding of these parts to form the built-
             up structural components are a manufacturing process that
             results in new and different articles, i.e., girders, which
             have a name, character, and use that are distinct from the
             steel plates.  Therefore, these fabricated structural
             components are products of the Philippines.

                  Articles classified in subheading 7308.10.00 are
             designated as eligible for the duty-free benefits of the GSP.
             For purposes of determining whether the imported articles
             qualify for the benefits of the GSP, at least 35 percent of
             the appraised value of the articles must be attributed to the
             cost or value of materials produced in the Philippines and the
             cost or value of the direct costs of processing operations
             performed in the Philippines.  19 CFR 10.176.  Although you
             indicate that the costs of processing in the Philippines are
             equal to 37.5 percent of the cost of the articles, the value-
             content requirement is based on a percentage of the appraised
             value.  Therefore, although the articles may be eligible for
             the benefits of the GSP, we do not have sufficient information
             to rule on whether they satisfy the 35 percent value-content
             requirement.  For your information, the value-content
             requirement is explained in sections 10.177 and 10.178 of the
             Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.177 - 10.178).

             HOLDING:

                  1.  The unassembled built-up steel components which are
             identifiable as distinct sections of the bridge, are classi-
             fied as bridge sections in subheading 7308.10.00, HTSUSA.

                  2.  The steel plate from Japan, when processed by cutting
             into flanges, webs, and stiffeners, and then by welding to
             form built-up structurals, is substantially transformed so
             that the resulting new and different articles, i.e., built-up
             structural, are products of the Philippines.
















                                          - 4 -

                  3.  Articles of subheading 7308.10.00, HTSUSA, from the
             Philippines, are designated as eligible for the benefits of
             the GSP and may be entered free of duty if the conditions set
             forth in General Note 3(c)(ii), HTSUSA, are satisfied.

                                          Sincerely,




                                          John Durant, Director
                                          Commercial Rulings Division






















































































             6cc:  AD NY Seaport
             2cc:  Chief, CIE
             1cc:  Marvin Amernick
             1cc:  AC, CO
             1cc:  Director, Trade Ops
             1cc:  Durant
             1cc:  Reading File
             1cc:  NIS Julius Miller

             LIBRARY:  valentin
             FILE NAME:085760