HQ 555654: Applicability of subheading 9802.00.60, HTSUS, to copper tubing manufactured abroad and returned for further processing

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 555654

                                     July 5, 1990


            CLA-2 CO:R:C  555654 RA

            CATEGORY:  Classification

            TARIFF NO.:  9802.00.60

            Richard C. King, Esq.
            Fitch, King and Caffentzis
            116 John Street
            New York, New York 10038

            RE:  Applicability of subheading 9802.00.60, HTSUS, to copper
                 tubing manufactured abroad and returned for further
                 processing

            Dear Mr. King:

                 This is in response to your letters dated May 1, and 22,
            1990, concerning the applicability of subheading 9802.00.60,
            Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), to
            copper tubing manufactured abroad from U.S.-made cathodes and
            processed into air conditioner condenser coils upon return.

            FACTS:

                 The imported merchandise consists of seamless copper
            tubing in coils produced abroad from U.S.-made copper
            cathodes.  After return to the U.S., the coiled tubing is
            processed in an automatic machine which rerounds and
            straightens the tubing.  The product is then cut at a beveled
            angle and bent into U-shaped articles known as "hairpins."
            The "hairpins" are later combined with aluminum fins to make
            "cores."  The straight sections of the "hairpins" are expanded
            to lock the fins in place and both ends are flared.  The
            "hairpins" are connected to various fittings by brazing and
            the finished products are incorporated into air conditioning
            units as condenser coils.

            ISSUE:

                 Do the operations performed on the copper tubing in the
            U.S. constitute "further processing" which will qualify the
            imported merchandise for tariff treatment under subheading
            9802.00.60, HTSUS?















                                         - 2 -


            LAW AND ANALYSIS:

                 Subheading 9802.00.60, HTSUS, provides a partial duty
            exemption for:

                 Any article of metal (as defined in U.S. note 3(d)
                 of this subchapter) manufactured in the United States
                 or subjected to a process of manufacture in the United
                 States, if exported for further processing, and if the
                 exported article as processed outside the United
                 States, or the article which results from the
                 processing outside the United States, is returned
                 to the United States for further processing.

            Metal articles satisfying these statutory requirements may be
            classified under this tariff provision with duty only on the
            value of such processing performed outside the U.S., provided
            there is compliance with the documentary requirements of
            section 10.9, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.9).

                 In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 091396 dated July 15,
            1969, we held that copper cathodes of U.S. manufacture which
            were exported to a foreign country where they were made into
            copper tubes of finished diameter were "further processed"
            abroad, within the meaning of item 806.30, Tariff Schedules of
            the United States (TSUS) (the precursor provision to
            subheading 9802.00.60, HTSUS).  Therefore, it only remains to
            consider whether the domestic operations in the instant case
            constitute "further processing" under the statute.

                  We have consistently held that in order to be considered
            "further processing," some operation must be applied to the
            metal which changes the shape or form of the metal or imparts
            new and different characteristics which become an integral
            part of the metal itself, such as machining, grinding,
            drilling, threading, punching, forming, plating, and the like.
            See C.S.D. 84-49, 18 Cust. Bull. 957 (1983).  Processing
            performed on an already completed article, incident to using
            it for the purpose intended, is not sufficient to constitute
            "further processing."   Intelex Systems, Inc. v.United States,
            59 CCPA 138, C.A.D. 1055 (1972).  However, legislative history
            and judicial authority do not support a highly restrictive
            interpretation of the manufacturing operations necessary to
            qualify as "further processing."  The Firestone Tire & Rubber
            Company v. U.S., 71 Cust.Ct. 63, C.D. 4474 (1973).
















                                         - 3 -


                 In HRL 067516 dated October 16, 1981, we held that steel
            bar stock made abroad from U.S.-made ingots was "further
            processed" upon return when it was machine straightened and
            cut to a specific length for final use.  In HRL 058832 dated
            March 1, 1979, we stated that the bending of alloy tubes into
            "U" shapes and welding the ends closed would be sufficient to
            satisfy the domestic "further processing" requirement.  In
            view of these holdings, we are of the opinion that the
            bending, straightening, and cutting operations performed on
            the subject copper tubing in the U.S. constitute "further
            processing" and qualify the importation for the partial duty
            exemption in subheading 9802.00.60, HTSUS.

            HOLDING:

                 Imported copper tubing made abroad from U.S.-made ingots
            which, when returned to the U.S., is bent into "U" shapes,
            straightened, and cut to length satisfies the foreign and
            domestic "further processing" requirements of subheading
            9802.00.60, HTSUS.  Therefore, the tubing is entitled to the
            partial duty exemption under this tariff provision, upon
            compliance with documentation requirements of 19 CFR 10.9.

                                        Sincerely,




                                        John Durant, Director
                                        Commercial Rulings Division