HQ 555009: Applicability of partial duty exemption of item 807.00, TSUS, to certain outdoor extension cords to be assembled in Mexico

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 555009

                                    July 2, 1988

          CLA-2  CO:R:C:V  555009 DBI

          CATEGORY: Classification

          TARIFF NO.:  9802.00.80; 807.00

          Mr. Roberto Ganza-Gongora
          J.O. Alvarez, Inc.
          #1 Ramos Road
          P.O. Box 1434
          Laredo, Texas  78042-1434

               RE:      Applicability of partial duty exemption of item
                        807.00, TSUS, to certain outdoor extension cords to
                        be assembled in Mexico

          Dear Mr. Garza-Gongora:

               This is in response to your letter dated April 21, 1988, in
          which you request a ruling concerning the applicability of item
          807.00, Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS), to certain
          outdoor extension cords to be assembled in Mexico and imported by
          your client.

          FACTS:

               You advise that the raw material used in the assembly
          include U.S.-made stranded copper wire, paper, paper filler, male
          and female plugs, Underwriters Laboratories (U.L.) label and
          package material.  The tie or band used is Mexican and the
          polyvinyl chloride (PVC) will be U.S.-made or Mexican.  You
          indicate that the following operations will be performed abroad:

          1. The stranded copper wire will be covered with PVC.

          2. Three different colored wires will be bunched and twisted
             together with papers and filler to form a cable.

          3. The cable will be covered with PVC and the serving paper.

          4. The cable will then be cut to its required length of 8 to 110
             feet.

          5. The ends of the cable will be stripped for crimping into place
             the male or female blades.

          6. The blades will be molded in place by covering them with PVC.













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          7. The finished cord will be tested with High Voltage Continuity,
             Polarity and Circuit Short Test as required under the U.L.
             procedures.

          8. The cord set will be later prepared for application of the
             Sleeves.

          9. Lastly, the cord sets will be packed into the cartons,
             palletized and covered with PVC film for shipping.

          ISSUE:

                Whether the described outdoor extension cords, when
          returned to the U.S., will be eligible for the partial exemption
          from duty in item 807.00, TSUS (9802.00.80, Harmonized Tariff
          Schedule of the United States (HTSUS))?

          LAW AND ANALYSIS:

                Item 807.00, TSUS, applies to articles assembled abroad in
          whole or in part of fabricated components, the products of the
          U.S., with no operations performed thereon except the attachment
          of the components to form the imported merchandise and operations
          incidental thereto.  An article classified under item 807.00,
          TSUS, is subject to duty upon the full appraised value of the
          imported article, less the cost or value of such products of the
          U.S.

                We have previously held in a ruling dated June 25, 1987 (HQ
          554577), that covering telephone line cords and coiled cords with
          PVC was a fabrication or non-assembly step, and, as such,
          precluded application of item 807.00, TSUS.  We stated that in
          this type of coating process, there was no joinder of separate
          solid components.  See HQ ruling letter 554416 dated March 6,
          1987.

                In the present case, there are many operations being
          performed abroad in order to construct the finished extension
          cord.  The wire is initially covered with PVC, and then covered
          again after the wires are cabled.  After the cables are stripped
          for crimping the blades into place, the blades are also covered
          with PVC.  Based on our previous ruling, this coating operation
          would not be an acceptable assembly operation within the meaning
          of item 807.00, TSUS.  Since the coating of the wires, cables and
          blades are integral to the construction of the finished extension
          cord, it would be impossible to separate out the individual steps
          of the assembly, which alone might be acceptable assembly, and















          still construct a finished extension cord.  Therefore, the
          operations performed abroad, taken as a whole, do not constitute
          an acceptable assembly under item 807.00, TSUS.

          HOLDING:

                On the basis of the information submitted, we are of the
          opinion that the operations performed abroad may not be
          considered an acceptable assembly, and, therefore, no allowances
          in duty may be made under item 807.00, TSUS.

                                     Sincerely,




                                     John Durant, Director
                                     Commercial Rulings Division














































          1cc: CO:R:C:V:DIZZO:LDC:6/30/88































































                              Mr. Roberto Ganza-Gongora
                              J.O. Alvarez, Inc.
                              #1 Ramos Road
                              P.O. Box 1434
                              Laredo, TX 78042-1434