The tariff classification and country of origin of a heating pad from Mexico

N038387 October 14, 2008 CLA-2-85:OT:RR:NC:N1:102 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 8516.79.0000 Mr. Joshua A. Lefkovitz Pain Management Technologies, Inc. 1340 Home Avenue (Bldg. A) Akron, OH 44310 RE: The tariff classification and country of origin of a heating pad from Mexico Dear Mr. Lefkovitz: In your letter dated September 9, 2008 you requested a tariff classification and country of origin ruling. Descriptive information was submitted. The article in question is described as a heating pad. You indicate that the heating pad will be manufactured in Mexico, which is a NAFTA country, from materials originating in Taiwan. Based on the bill of materials you have provided the heating pad will incorporate an electric heating element. The applicable subheading for the heating pad will be 8516.79.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for other electrothermic appliances. The general rate of duty will be 2.7 percent ad valorem. With regard to the country of origin of the heating pad, Section 102.11, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 102.11), sets forth the required hierarchy for determining whether a good is a good of a NAFTA country for the purposes of country of origin marking and determining the rate of duty and staging category applicable to an originating good as set out in Annex 302.2. Paragraph (a) of this section provides that the country of origin of a good is the country in which (1) the good is wholly obtained or produced, or (2) the good is produced exclusively from domestic materials, or (3) each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in section 102.20 of the regulations. "Foreign material" is defined in 19 CFR 102.1(e) as a material whose country of origin as determined under these rules is not the same country as the country in which the good is produced. Sections 102.11(a)(1) and 102.11(a)(2) do not apply to the facts presented in this case because the heating pad is manufactured solely of Taiwanese materials and therefore is neither wholly obtained or produced, nor produced exclusively from domestic materials. Since an analysis of sections 102.11(a)(1) and 102.11(a)(2) will not yield a country of origin determination, we look to section 102.11(a)(3).Section 102.11(a)(3) provides that the country of origin is the country in which each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification as set forth in 19 CFR 102.20. Since we have determined that the heating pad is classified in subheading 8516.79.0000, HTSUS, the applicable tariff shift rule found in section 102.20(o) requires a change to subheading 8516.10 through 8516.79 from any other subheading , including a subheading within that group.Applying the NAFTA Marking Rules set forth in Part 102 of the regulations to the facts of this case, we find that the non-originating materials undergo the applicable shift in tariff classification. Accordingly, the country of origin of the manufactured heating pad is Mexico. Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Kenneth Brock at (646) 733-3009. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division