Is that a Pine Nut?

I watch competitive cooking the way a stereotypical American male might watch baseball. I don't care if it is Top Chef or Chopped at the high end or the dreck that is Cupcake Wars and The Great American Food Truck Race. I don't watch kids compete, that's where I draw the line. I also like to eat. As a result, I am familiar with a lot of strange food items.

Pine nuts are not all that odd. I recently learned a lot more about pine nuts when I read Specialty Commodities Inc. v. United States, which involves the tariff classification of the seed of the Korean pine nut, Pinus koraiensis.

Customs and Border Protection classified these seeds as "Other nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled: Other: Other: Shelled: Other" in HTSUS item 0802.90.97. The plaintiff believes they are best classified in 0802.90.25 as "Pignolia: Shelled." Clearly, the question is whether the seed of the Koreas pine, from China, is a "Pignolia" for purposes of tariff classification. Note that both classifications are in subheading 0802.90. This question is all about the last two digits.

While it may seem that a pine nut is a pine nut, that is not the case. The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized System, which are not binding on U.S. Customs and Border Protection but are authoritative interpretations of the international parts of the tariff, state that the nuts of Heading 0802 include "pignolia nuts (seeds of the Pinus pinea)." It turns out that Pinus pinea is the Italian Stone Pine, which is native to Europe, north Africa and the Mediterranean, which would exclude both China and Korea and is in contrast to the Pinus koraiensis.

Seeds of Pinus koraiensis via Wikipedia

What this comes down to is whether the seeds of the Pinus koraiensis are within the common and commercial meaning of "pignola nuts," giving due weight to the Explanatory Notes additional notation of "Pinus pinea."

This case is a good read for anyone interested in learning how customs lawyers muster lexicographical evidence of common and commercial meaning. Plaintiff put forward a number of definitions broad enough to encompass edible pine nuts of any source. These were taken from dictionaries, trade publications, government sources, and various websites. The government put forward a similar collection of more restrictive definitions taken from other sources and challenged the plaintiff's interpretation of some of its sources. None of this competing reference material was sufficient to resolve the matter.

The plaintiff also pointed to prior CBP rulings as evidence that Customs has established the meaning of "pignolia." These rulings, however, relate to infused oils and do not directly address the classification of the pine seeds.

The Court next looked to the historical treatment of pine seeds in U.S. tariff acts. This is something we don't often see. Prior tariffs are only relevant today when the language is similar to the current law, which is often the case when an item is called out by name (or eo nomine). In this case, the Court looked at the 1921 Summaries of Trade and Tariff Information and the Tariff Act of 1922. The government, however, pointed out that neither the subsequent Tariff Act of 1930 nor the 1946 revision use the word "pignolia." This is meaningful because during that time, all pine nuts appear to have been classified as "other" and the seeds of Pinus pinea only subsequently specified as pignolia. Furthermore, a 1968 tariff report indicates that the pignolia nut is gathered in Italy, Portugal and Spain, presumably excluding similar products from China and Korea.

That took the Court back to where we started: the Explanatory Notes. In 1986, the Explanatory Notes used the phrase "pignolia nuts (Seeds of the Pinus pinea)." That language remained in subsequent editions.

This does not resolve the issue because there is no disagreement as to the proper heading and subheading (i.e., to sixth digit), which is as far as the Explanatory Notes go. Nevertheless, the Notes clearly limit pignolia to the European variety. The U.S. drafters of the HTSUS presumably knew that and were also aware of the 1968 report. Taken together, that indicates to the Court of International Trade, that these particular pine nuts are not pignolia for classification purposes.

This is the point where I usually find something in the decision to pick at. Initially, my concern was that the Explanatory Notes insert a limitation to pignolia that is not in the HTSUS and should, therefore, be ignored. That would broaden the meaning beyond seeds of Pinus pinea. But, the Court addressed this saying that there was not sufficient evidence of a common and commercial meaning to establish a conflict with the Explanatory Notes. Touché.

Now, I will go home, open my basket, and make dinner from pine nuts, squid ink, elk loin, and a Boston cream pie. If my entre does not cut it, I will be Chopped.

Ruling of the Week 2015.13: Origin, NAFTA and Circular Reasoning

The NAFTA Marking rules are a giant mystery to many people.

Let's assume you are importing evaporator cores from Mexico. The cores are initially produced in South Korea and shipped to the U.S. From here, they are exported to a facility in Mexico that adds fittings and connections before shipping them back to the U.S. Once back here, they are used in the assembly of automotive air conditioners. When returned to the U.S., the cores are not NAFTA originating. You can assume that set of fact because it is what happened in CBP Ruling N014917 (Aug. 2, 2007).

So, how do you analyze the origin of the cores?

The U.S. has various rules used to determine country of origin. Most products that are not wholly the growth or product of a single country are deemed to originate in the last country in which it was subject to a substantial transformation, i.e., a change in name, character, or use. See 19 CFR 134.1(b). That section goes on to say "however, for a good of a NAFTA country, the NAFTA Marking Rules will determine the country of origin." Those rules are in Part 102 of the Customs Regulations.

The NAFTA Marking Rules are not based on substantial transformation; they are an exception to it. The NAFTA Marking Rules are a hierarchy of successive tests, one of which might determine the country of origin. In the case of these evaporator cores, the first applicable test was whether the foreign materials, in this case the Korean parts, made a qualifying change in tariff classification as a result of the processing in Mexico. They did not.

The next applicable test stipulates that the country of origin will be the country or countries of origin of the single material that imparts the essential character to the good. In this case, that was the Korean-origin core. Bingo! Korea is the country of origin. So says Customs, read it for yourself.

I have two thoughts on this.

First, there is an interpretive note stating that the only materials that merit consideration as imparting the essential character are those materials that are classified in tariff provisions from which a change in tariff classification is not allowed. This seems like an odd rule and it is pretty obscure, but it makes sense. The changes in tariff classification appear to be designed to require a lot of processing and added value. Often, for example, a change from a parts subheading to a finished goods subheading in the same heading will not be a qualifying change. That is because the operation is probably relatively simple assembly without much value added. But, a change from a raw material of one heading to a finished good of another heading is indicative of a lot of added value. So, the materials excluded from a qualifying tariff classification are closer to the finished article and are, therefore, more likely to represent the essential character. Makes sense to me.

Second, is CBP's conclusion correct? I am on the record about this issue elsewhere in this blog. The NAFTA Marking Rules are only used to determine the country of origin of "goods of a NAFTA country." A "good of a NAFTA country" is something determined under the NAFTA Marking rules to have the country of origin of Canada, Mexico, or the United States. South Korea is not a NAFTA Country.  That means the application of the NAFTA Marking Rules spit this evaporator core out of Part 102 and back into Part 134. Right?

To my way of thinking, that means the question is whether the operation in Mexico resulted in a substantial transformation. That is an arguable point. But, this ruling did not go that extra step and the importer apparently did not make that argument.

By the way, since this and other rulings don't seem to track my thinking keep in mind my general disclaimer: this is not legal advice. It's just me talking.

Ruling of the Week 2015.11: German Pizza, Chicago Pride

This one is pretty straight forward. The only reason I am covering it is that the notion of importing completely prepared pizza from Germany is oddly funny to me. Kind of like getting tacos from Australia.

In N261593 (Mar. 11, 2015), U.S. Customs and Border Protection answered a ruling request from Freiberger U.S.A., Inc. asking for the tariff classification of a completely prepared and frozen pizza to be imported from Germany. Four varieties were involved including: flatbread with cream sauce and eleven-inch square.

The correct tariff classification is in Heading 1905 which is the heading for:

Bread, pastry, cakes, biscuits and other bakers' wares, whether or not containing cocoa; communion wafers, empty capsules of a kind suitable for pharmaceutical use, sealing wafers, rice paper and similar products . . . .

I come from Chicago where we like our pizza thick, the way God intended it. Consequently, it makes sense to me that pizza would be treated as a bread product. Specifically, Customs classified the pizza in 1905.90.90. This is the "other, other" provision in the heading. The statistical suffix at 1905.90.9060 specifically calls out "Pizza and quiche" (not that the statistical suffix means much legally). The applicable rate of duty is 4.5%

From The Pizza Fan (thepizzafan.com)

This should not be (but probably is) true for the wood-fired, crispy-crust, hipster pizza you might find, say, in Brooklyn. It seems to me that would be, at best, a "crispbread" of 1905.10.0000. Just sayin', Brooklyn. I note there are no breakouts under crispbreads. I have, therefore, just legally proven that hipster pizza is, from a legal perspective, not pizza at all. You're welcome, Chicago.

Of course, the practical economic problem is that crispbreads are duty-free. We here in Chicago do not want Brooklyn to have an economic advantage in the imported pizza market. I think we need to petition the President (who is an adopted Chicagoan) to reduce the duty on imported pizza to Free to give Chicago parity with Brooklyn.

Here's another thing I am worried about: do they make a good pizza in Germany? Is this a product we really want in the U.S.? I realize that the tariff item covers more than just pizza. It also covers quiche, corn chips, and other savory snacks. But, for the entire category, Germany was the number seven source of these products. It fell just behind South Korea and just ahead of Israel, neither of which is a pizza dynamo. The number one source of pizza and similar products imported to the U.S. in 2014 was Mexico with the number two slot going to Canada. See, NAFTA works.

Italy, by the way, was number three.