Ruling Request Concerning the Applicability of 19 C.F.R. §141.89 to Used Steel Pipe

HQ H089781 March 16, 2010 CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H089781 RM CATEGORY: Classification; Entry TARIFF NO.: N/A Mr. Darren W. Sparks President and Chief Executive Officer Liberty Companies P.O. Box 258 Jerome, ID 83338 RE: Ruling Request Concerning the Applicability of 19 C.F.R. §141.89 to Used Steel Pipe Dear Mr. Sparks: This is in response to your e-ruling request, dated November 19, 2009, to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), on behalf of the Liberty Companies, in which you request a determination on the applicability of the mill analysis or mill test certificate requirement set forth in 19 C.F.R. §141.89 to importations of used steel pipe. FACTS: You propose to import used steel pipes ranging in outside diameter from 1 to 3.5 inches. You indicated that the pipes are bought and sold as a “junk-scrap-structural product” and are used strictly for agricultural or structural use. They are no longer compliant with the American Petroleum Institute (“API”) or the Oil Country Tubular Goods (“OCTG”) standards and are thus not suitable for use in oil and gas applications. ISSUE: Whether the mill analysis or mill test certificate requirement set forth 19 C.F.R. §141.89 applies to importations of used steel pipe. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Title 19 C.F.R. §141.89 of the CBP Regulations provides, in pertinent part: Invoices for the following classes of merchandise, classifiable under the [HTSUS], shall set forth the additional information specified: * * * Iron or steel classifiable in Chapter 72 or headings 7301 to 7307, HTSUS (T.D. 53092, 55977) – Statement of the percentages by weight of carbon and any metallic elements contained in the articles, in the form of a mill analysis or mill test certificate. A mill test certificate (or mill analysis or mill test report) is a certified, quality-control document issued by a steel mill and/or an inspection authority, which specifies a material’s chemical makeup and physical characteristics (i.e., the results of tensile and hardness tests), and verifies that it meets the requirements of any listed standards. You contend that used-scrap-structural pipe should be exempt from the mill test certificate requirement set forth in 19 C.F.R. §141.89 because “ … it is commonly known throughout the industry that used product carries no mill certification or mill analysis due to its previous use” and because “these [pipes] are bought and sold as junk-scrap-structural product….” As an alternative to a mill test certificate, you offer to submit “paperwork stating that the product is a J55-grade API product [a carbon grade], and not an alloy,” and that “all concerned in the industry understand that they are buying and selling non-API or [a] non-OCTG product.” Classification under Chapter 72, HTSUS [iron and steel], and in headings 7301 to 7307, HTSUS [articles of iron and steel], depends in large part on the physical and chemical properties of the imported metal. 19 C.F.R. §141.89(a) provides that importations of steel classifiable in any of the headings listed above must be accompanied by “[a] statement of the percentages by weight of carbon and any metallic elements contained in the articles, in the form of a mill analysis or mill test certificate.” (Emphasis added). This is the case with respect to used steel as well as new, regardless of its intended use. See HQ H068635, dated October 2, 2009. Therefore, insofar as the subject pipes are articles of steel classified under Chapter 73, HTSUS, in one of the headings covered by §141.89(a), they must be accompanied by a mill analysis or mill test certificate when imported. HOLDING: The entry requirements set forth in 19 C.F.R. §141.89 apply to the importation of the used steel pipes at issue. As such, you must provide a statement of the percentages by weight or carbon and any metallic elements contained in the articles, in the form of a mill analysis or mill test certificate. Sincerely, Myles B. Harmon, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division