HQ 954777: Parabolic Aluminum Louvers; HQ 076367; Item 653.01

Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.

                            HQ 954777
                         August 23, 1993


CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 954777 DWS

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 7610.90.00

Mr. Steve S. Ahn
U.S. Customs House Broker Co.
147-40 184th Street, Room 201
Jamaica, NY 11413

RE: Parabolic Aluminum Louvers; HQ 076367; Item 653.01

Dear Mr. Ahn:

     This is in response to your letter of July 29, 1993, to the
Area Director of Customs, New York Seaport, on behalf of Daewoo
International America Inc., concerning the classification of
parabolic aluminum louvers under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS).  Your letter was referred to this office
for a response together with the sample louver.

FACTS:

     The merchandise consists of parabolic aluminum louvers (model
no. PL 2209-35 SSS).  The louvers are comprised of anodized
aluminum in sheets or coils with a purity of between 98.5 and 99.5
percent.  They are designed for use in various applications where
diffusion of light is needed.  One such use is as an accessory to
fluorescent fixtures in order to give the fixtures a more
aesthetically pleasing look.

     The subheading under consideration is as follows:

     7610.90.00: aluminum plates, rods, profiles, tubes and the   
                 like, prepared for use in structures: [o]ther.

     The general, column one rate of duty is 5.7 percent ad
     valorem.

ISSUE:

     Whether the parabolic aluminum louvers are classifiable under
subheading 7610.90.00, HTSUS, as aluminum articles prepared for use
in structures?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in accordance
with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order.
GRI 1 provides that classification is determined according to the
terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.

     In HQ 076367, dated June 28, 1985, similar aluminum louvers
were held to be classifiable under item 653.01, Tariff Schedule of
the United States (TSUS), which provides for: 

     [h]angers and other buildings, bridges, bridge sections, lock- 
     gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, door 
     and window frames, shutters, balustrades, columns, pillars,  
     and posts, and other structures and parts of structures, all
     the foregoing of base metal: [o]ther.

     Decisions under the TSUS are not dispositive in interpreting
the HTSUS.  However, on a case-by-case basis they should be
considered instructive in interpreting the HTSUS, particularly
where the nomenclature previously interpreted in those decisions
remains unchanged and no dissimilar interpretation is required by
the text of the HTSUS.  H. Conf. Rep. No. 576, p.550.

     In this instance, we find that HQ 076367 is instructive in
interpreting the classification of the aluminum louvers under the
HTSUS because the nomenclature previously interpreted remains
unchanged and no dissimilar interpretation is required by the text
of the HTSUS.

     Therefore, it is our position that the parabolic louvers are
classifiable under subheading 7610.90.00, HTSUS, as aluminum
articles prepared for use in structures.

HOLDING:

     The parabolic louvers are classifiable under subheading
7610.90.00, HTSUS, as aluminum articles prepared for use in
structures.

                            Sincerely,



                           John Durant, Director
                           Commercial Rulings Division