Application for Further Review of Protest No. 200617101281; B&K, LLC

H295445 March 27, 2026 OT:RR:CTF:CPMMA H295445 NAH/KF CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO: 7307.19.9080; 7308.90.9095 Center Director U.S. Customs and Border Protection Base Metals Center of Excellence and Expertise 2350 N. Sam Houston Pkwy E. #900 Houston, TX 77032-3100 Attn: Import Specialist Mariann Seymour Re: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 200617101281; B&K, LLC Dear Center Director: This is in response to the Application for Further Review (“AFR”) of Protest No. 2006-17-101281. B&K, LLC (“B&K”) protested the Port’s decision to liquidate entry no. xxx-xxxxx06-8 as subject to antidumping duties, while the classification of the entered merchandise was being reviewed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”). We have considered the arguments raised by your office and the protestant. Our decision is as follows. FACTS: Entry no. xxx-xxxxx06-8 was filed on September 16, 2016, at the Port of Memphis. The entry consisted of iron pipe fittings, which B&K classified under subheading 7308.40.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The fittings were manufactured by Jinan Meide Casting Co. in the People’s Republic of China (China). The packing list included with the entry summary (CBP Form 7501) describes the merchandise within the entry as “malleable iron pipe fittings and malleable iron pipe clamp and steel pipe nipples and bronze fittings and cast iron bar grates [sic].” CBP issued a Notice of Action (“NOA”) to B&K on July 21, 2017, concerning the proper classification of the fittings. In the NOA, CBP proposed to classify the fittings under subheading 2 7307.11.0030, HTSUSA (“Annotated”). CBP determined that pursuant to this classification, the fittings were subject to an antidumping duty order (“Non-Malleable Order”). See Notice of Antidumping Duty Order: Non-Malleable Cast Iron Pipe Fittings from China, 68 Fed. Reg. 16765 (Apr. 7, 2003) (Case No. A-570-875-001). CBP explained that liquidation of the entry was suspended pending further instructions from the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”). B&K challenged CBP’s re-classification of the fittings on August 10, 2017, on grounds that heading 7308, HTSUS, was proper instead of heading 7307, HTSUS. B&K acknowledged the fittings were not properly classified upon entry but asserted the appropriate classification for the fittings was subheading 7308.90.9590, HTSUSA. B&K asked for the entry to be re-liquidated accordingly, and without antidumping duties. B&K argued that because the pipes were composed of malleable iron, the order was inapplicable. A CBP officer responded to B&K by email on August 11, 2017, and requested samples to determine the proper classification of the fittings. The officer also cancelled the NOA “as it pertain[ed] to the wrong antidumping case,” stating CBP would “not seek further action” while the classification issue was being decided. The officer explained that an alternate antidumping duty order that may be applicable to the fittings was under review (“Malleable Order”). See Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Malleable Iron Pipe Fittings from China, 68 Fed. Reg. 69376 (Dec. 12, 2003) (Case No. A-570-881). B&K mailed samples of the fittings on August 24, 2017. Concurrently, B&K mailed a disclosure statement to the Office of Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures. B&K referred to the entered merchandise as “malleable cast iron structural fittings,” and reiterated that it was misclassified upon entry. B&K asked CBP to reclassify the fittings under subheading 7308.90.9590, HTSUSA. B&K provided the following description of the fittings: The structural fittings are designed for joining tubes in structural applications like greenhouses, railway guard railing, various types of railings and fences and barriers, playground equipment, machinery guards and enclosures, rooftop fall prevention systems, agricultural enclosures, temporary buildings, canopies and car ports, mezzanine floors, and water treatment works. They are not threaded. They contain tapped holes in which screws or bolts are inserted, at the time of assembly, to fix the fittings to structural tubing. The structural fittings are not designed for use in the conveyance of fluids or gases, nor are they capable of such use. They are made of malleable iron, produced to the ASTM A197 specification. They are produced and exported by Jinan Meade Casting Co., Ltd. in China. CBP liquidated the entry on October 6, 2017. Duties were assessed pursuant to the fittings’ classification under subheading 7307.11.0030, HTSUSA, and subject to the Non-Malleable Order. See Message No. 7179316 (June 28, 2017). Unaware of the entry’s liquidation, on October 13, 2017, B&K provided CBP with additional information regarding the fittings to facilitate a classification decision. B&K argued that CBP erroneously proposed to classify the fittings under subheading 7307.11.0030, HTSUSA, because the Explanatory Notes to heading 7307 expressly exclude “articles used for installing pipes and tubes…which do not form an integral part of the bore (e.g., hangers, stays and similar supports which merely fix or support the tubes and pipes on walls, clamping or 3 tightening bands or collars (hose clips) used for clamping flexible tubing or hose to rigid piping taps, connecting pieces, etc.).” B&K maintained that most of the entered fittings did not form an integral part of a tube bore, but “merely join[ed]… tubes together…[or] fit[] around a tube and allow[ed] it to be fixed to a wall or another object.” B&K concluded that heading 7308, HTSUS, was therefore more appropriate for fittings, as it included “parts of structures…of iron or steel…shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures.” Examples of the “typical application” for such fittings, pursuant to the product catalog provided by B&K, are handrails, fencing, playground equipment, guardrailing, racks, enclosures, temporary buildings, fall prevention systems, safety barriers, and platforms. The installation process for these applications is described as: “[n]o welding, so no hot permits required[, and, n]o threading or bolting, so no special tools required.” Upon learning of the entry’s liquidation, on October 19, 2017, B&K contacted CBP to contend that liquidation was improper while the fittings’ classification remained in dispute. CBP instructed B&K to file the present protest on October 24, 2017. B&K complied with CBP’s instruction on November 7, 2017. For purposes of facilitating a protest decision, on February 21, 2018, B&K provided CBP with a DVD and product list describing every model of fitting within entry no. xxx-xxxxx06-8. B&K also provided CBP with a sample of every model. The models at issue are: • Item number 670-106HC, o o which is a single socket tee with the top section’s length approximately the same size as the diameter of the lower section and screw holes in the center of the top section and bottom of the lower section; • Item number 670-406HC, o o which is a three socket tee with all three ends being approximately the same size and screw holes on each end; • Item numbers 671-604HC and 671-606HC, 4 o o which are 90-degree side outlet tees that allow a tube or pipe to pass through the center column and two outlets on the side with a screw hole on each outlet; • Item number 671-906HC, o o which is a two socket cross with a straight coupling bisected by an opening that allows a tube to pass through the center perpendicular to two outlets with screw holes on the outlet ends; • Item number 672-506HC, o o which is a 90-degree elbow with screw holes on the two ends; • Item number 672-804HC, o o which is a side outlet elbow with an opening on the bottom of the traditional 90-degree elbow shape and a screw hole at each opening; • Item number 673-804HC, o o which is a gate eye with a large ring and single screw hole attached to a smaller ring and openings running parallel; 5 • Item number 674-306HC, o o which is a rail support with ring and single screw hole attached to a bar which is attached to a flat plate; • Item number 674-804HC, o o which is an adjustable side outlet with roughly the same structure as the 90-degree side outlet tee, but the side outlets can move around the central column and produce different degrees between the side outlets; • Item numbers 674-904HC and 674-906HC, o o which are straight couplings with two screw holes on either end; • Item number 676-904HC, o o which is a swivel base with a tube opening connected to a movable hinge which connects to a flat plate; • Item numbers 677-304HC and 677-306HC, o o which are single swivel sockets with a tube opening connected to a movable hinge which connects to a ring; 6 • Item number 678-204HC, o o which is a ring that has a hook extending off of it; • Item numbers 679-804HC and 679-806HC, o o which are “flanges with two tabs” with a ring that has a screw hole on top and two flat plates extending off the sides perpendicular to the ring; and • Item numbers 679-904HC and 679-906HW, o o which are offset flanges with the same structure as the “flanges with two tabs” except only one plate extends off one side of the ring. Within the protest filings the Protestant provided examples of other models which were not part of the entry and are not addressed herein. In the course of analyzing the fittings, CBP submitted a sample for lab analysis. On March 8, 2018, CBP’s lab confirmed that the fitting was made of malleable iron. Your office subsequently forwarded this protest for further review. ISSUES: 1. What is the proper tariff classification for the entered fittings? 2. Whether the fittings are subject to an antidumping duty order. 3. Whether entry no. xxx-xxxxx06-8 was properly liquidated. 7 LAW AND ANALYSIS: As an initial matter, we find that pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3)(A), this protest was timely filed on November 7, 2017, within 180 days after the October 6, 2017, liquidation date for the subject entry. Pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 174.24(b), this protest meets the criteria for further review because it involves questions of law or fact which have not previously been ruled upon. I. What is the proper tariff classification for the entered fittings? Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUS. Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRIs”) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation(“AUSRIs”). The GRIs and the AUSRIs are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provisions of law for all purposes. GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the heading and legal notes do not otherwise require, GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of headings shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to GRIs 1 through 5. Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1 provides, in pertinent part, as follows: 1- In the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires— . . . (c) a provision for parts of an article covers products solely or principally used as a part of such articles but a provision for “parts” or “parts and accessories” shall not prevail over a specific provision for such part or accessory; The 2017 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows: 7307 Tube or pipe fittings (for example, couplings, elbows, sleeves), of iron or steel 7308 Structures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading 9406) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and bridge sections, lock gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, shutters, balustrades, pillars and columns) of iron or steel; plates, rods, angles, shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures of iron or steel The Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (“Harmonized System”) represent the official interpretation of the Customs Cooperation Council on the scope of each heading. See H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 100-576, 100th Cong., 2d Sess. 549 (1988); 23 Customs Bulletin No. 36, 3 (T.D. 89-90, September 6, 1989), 59 FR 35127 (August 23, 1989). Although neither binding on the contracting parties to the Harmonized System Convention (which includes the United States) nor considered to be dispositive in the interpretation of the Harmonized System, the ENs should be consulted on the proper scope of the Harmonized System. Id. 8 EN 73.07 explains in pertinent part: This heading covers fittings of iron or steel, mainly used for connecting the bores of two tubes together, or for connecting a tube to some other apparatus, or for closing the tube aperture. This heading does not however cover articles used for installing pipes and tubes but which do not form an integral part of the bore (e.g., hangers, stays and similar supports which merely fix or support the tubes and pipes on walls, clamping or tightening bands or collars (hose clips) used for clamping flexible tubing or hose to rigid piping, taps, connecting pieces, etc.) (heading 73.25 or 73.26). The connection is obtained : - by screwing, when using cast iron or steel threaded fittings; - or by welding, when using butt-welding or socket-welding steel fittings. In the case of butt-welding, the ends of the fittings and of the tubes are square cut or chamfered; - or by contact, when using removable steel fittings. This heading therefore includes flat flanges and flanges with forged collars, elbows and bends and return bends, reducers, tees, crosses, caps and plugs, lap joint stub-ends, fittings for tubular railings and structural elements, off sets, multi-branch pieces, couplings or sleeves, clean out traps, nipples, unions, clamps and collars. The heading excludes : (a) Clamps and other devices specially designed for assembling parts of structures (heading 73.08). EN 73.08 explains: This heading covers complete or incomplete metal structures, as well as parts of structures. For the purpose of this heading, these structures are characterised by the fact that once they are put in position, they generally remain in that position. They are usually made up from bars, rods, tubes, angles, shapes, sections, sheets, plates, wide flats including so-called universal plates, hoop, strip, forgings or castings, by riveting, bolting, welding, etc. Such structures sometimes incorporate products of other headings such as panels of woven wire or expanded metal of heading 73.14. Parts of structures include clamps and other devices specially designed for assembling metal structural elements of round cross-section (tubular or other). These devices usually have protuberances with tapped holes in which screws are inserted, at the time of assembly, to fix the clamps to the tubing. . . . Apart from the structures and parts of structures mentioned in the heading, the heading also includes products such as : Pit head frames and superstructures; adjustable or telescopic props, tubular props, extensible coffering beams, tubular scaffolding and similar equipment; sluice-gates, piers, jetties and marine moles; lighthouse superstructures; masts, gangways, rails, bulkheads, etc., for ships; balconies and verandahs; shutters, gates, sliding doors; assembled railings and fencing; level-crossing gates and similar barriers; frameworks for greenhouses and forcing frames; large-scale shelving for assembly and permanent installation in shops, workshops, storehouses, etc.; stalls and racks; certain protective barriers for motorways, made from sheet metal or from angles, shapes or sections. 9 The terms “tube fitting” and “pipe fittings,” as used in heading 7307, are not defined in the HTSUS. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) H282279, dated July 6, 2017. The term is therefore defined “in accordance with its common meaning, which may be ascertained by reference to ‘standard lexicographic and scientific authorities’ and to the pertinent ENs.” Id. (quoting GRK Can., Ltd. v. United States, 761 F.3d 1354, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2014)). CBP has ruled that the scope of the term includes “tees, reducers, and ‘bends,’” designed to permit and control fluid flow through their apertures. Id. (Internal citations omitted). As explained in EN 73.07, the heading includes fittings “of iron or steel, mainly used for connecting the bores of two tubes together, or for connecting a tube to some other apparatus, or for closing the tube aperture.” The connection may be obtained by screwing “when using cast iron or steel threaded fittings.” EN 73.07 specifies that the heading includes “flat flanges and flanges with forged collars, elbows and bends and return bends, reducers, tees, crosses, caps and plugs, lap joint stub?ends, fittings for tubular railings and structural elements, off sets, multi?branch pieces, couplings or sleeves, clean out traps, nipples, unions, clamps and collars (emphasis added).” As set forth above, EN 73.07 states that the heading does not include “articles used for installing pipes and tubes but which do not form an integral part of the bore (e.g., hangers, stays and similar supports which merely fix or support the tubes and pipes on walls).” Similarly, the term “structure” is not defined in the HTSUS, such that it must defined in accordance with its common meaning. See HQ H257207, dated November 12, 2015. CBP has determined that “in order to be considered a structure, an item must be a complex system consisting of a number of different parts or sections.” Id. Additionally, EN 73.08 states “structures are characterised by the fact that once they are put in position, they generally remain in that position.” Parts of a structure, as stated in EN 73.08, “include clamps and other devices specially designed for assembling metal structural elements…[which] usually have protuberances with tapped holes in which screws are inserted, at the time of assembly, to fix the clamps to the tubing.” Parts of a structure also include “plates, strip, rods, angles, shapes, sections and tubes, which have been prepared (e.g., drilled, bent or notched) for use in structures.” On the other hand, the EN to heading 7307 excludes: “[c]lamps and other devices specially designed for assembling parts of structures… [and] supports used for installing pipe and tube.” EN 73.07. According to the product catalogs and description provided by B&K, the subject merchandise are used to create connect tubes and pipes into various configurations which may be commercial or industrial, but do not convey fluids or gases. The subject merchandise take various shapes, including but not limited to, short tee, long tee, obtuse angle elbow, 90 degree elbow, swivel elbow, side outlet elbow, elbows of various degrees, socket cross, straight coupling, swivel sockets, etc. The subject articles are alleged to be parts of structures. B&K argues that heading 7308, HTSUS, is therefore more appropriate for the fittings because they are specifically designed “for use in structures of iron or steel.” B&K additionally argues that most of the entered fittings do not form an integral part of a bore, precluding their classification under heading 7307, HTSUS. a. Item numbers 670-406HC, 672-506HC, 672-804HC, 674-904HC, and 674-906HC 10 The merchandise at issue varies in purpose, function, and design. Item number 670-406HC, which is a three socket tee, item number 672