Applicability of partial duty exemption under HTSUSsubheading 9802.00.60 to molybdenum oxide

HQ 560583 September 4, 1997 CLA-2 RR:TC:SM 560583 KSG CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO. : 9802.00.60 Derek J. Benham President BenMet NY 475 Fifth Avenue, Ste 606 New York, NY 10017 RE: Applicability of partial duty exemption under HTSUS subheading 9802.00.60 to molybdenum oxide Dear Mr. Benham: This is in response to your letter of July 11, 1997, requesting a ruling regarding the applicability of subheading 9802.00.60 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), to molybdenum oxide. FACTS: You plan to buy molybdenum concentrate from a U.S. producer. This material is mined and milled in New Mexico. You then propose to export this product to China to be toll processed into molybdenum oxide (MoO3) at a plant in China. The molybdenum oxide would be shipped back to the U.S., where it would be used to make ferro-molybdenum (FeMo), which is used as an alloying agent in the steel and foundry industries. ISSUE: Whether molybdenum oxide will qualify for the partial duty exemption available under subheading 9802.00.60, HTSUS. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Subheading 9802.00.60, HTSUS, provides a partial duty exemption for certain articles of metal which are manufactured or subjected to a process of manufacture in the U.S., exported for further processing, and returned for further processing. Duty is assessed only on the cost or value of the foreign processing, provided the documentary requirements of 19 CFR 10.9 are satisfied. Pursuant to U.S. Note 3(d) of subchapter II, chapter 98, HTSUS, for purposes of subheading 9802.00.60, the term "metal" covers (1) the base metals enumerated in additional U.S. Note 1 to section XV; (2) arsenic, barium, boron, calcium, mercury, selenium, silicon, strontium, tellurium, thorium, uranium and the rare-earth elements; and (3) alloys of any of the foregoing. Because molybdenum oxide is an ore and not a metal, the article is not an eligible article of metal as defined in U.S. Note 3(d) of subchapter II, chapter 98, HTSUS. Customs ruled in HRL 554901, dated January 26, 1989, that molybdenum oxide does not constitute an article of metal for purposes of subheading 9802.000.60, HTSUS. Therefore, the article does not qualify for the partial duty exemption set forth at subheading 9802.00.60, HTSUS. HOLDING: The molybdenum oxide does not qualify for the partial duty exemption set forth at subheading 9802.00.90, HTSUS. A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is entered. If the documentshave been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction. Sincerely, John Durant Director Tariff Classification Appeals Division