HQ 087977

December 5, 1990

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087977 JMH

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 7318.15.50

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
909 First Ave., Room 2039
Seattle, WA 98174

RE: Protest and Request for Further Review 3001-9-000986, dated
September 5, 1989; fasteners; screws; bolts; studs

Dear Sir:

The following is our decision regarding the Protest and
Request for Further Review No. 3001-9-000986, dated September 5,
1989. At issue is the classification of certain steel threaded
articles imported from Japan.

FACTS:

The articles in question are daisy head steel threaded
articles imported from Japan. The articles are composed of
passivated stainless steel and are used as truck battery terminal
posts. They are threaded over approximately half of their
shanks. The unthreaded portion of each article is angled to a
greater diameter than the threaded potion. The threaded
articles' heads consist of a washer and hexagonal head. The hex
is .098-,088" high, and the overall dimensions of the articles
are 3/8-16 X 1.06".

The importer states that the threaded articles are designed
for and sold to a single customer, a manufacturer of truck
batteries. Battery cables are attached to the steel articles
and the articles are used to secure the cables to the battery
terminal. The hexagonal heads of these threaded articles are
encapsulated in the plastic battery housing and are completely
inaccessible. The plastic anchors the threaded articles' heads
while the threaded ends protrude from the top of the battery.
The battery cables are attached to the articles by clamps. The
threaded articles are never torqued. They are secured by the
battery housing while a clamp is attached to the exposed threaded
portion of each steel article.

-2-


Upon entry the steel threaded articles were classified in
subheading 7318.15.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States Annotated ("HTSUSA"), as "Other screws and bolts...Bolts
and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the
same shipment..." The threaded articles were liquidated under
subheading 7318.15.80, HTSUSA, as "Other screws and
bolts...Other...Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6mm
or more..."

ISSUE:

What is the appropriate classification for the daisy head
steel threaded articles?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is
governed by the General Rules of Interpretation ("GRIs"). GRI 1
states in part that "for legal purposes, classification shall be
determined according to the terms of the headings and any
relative section or chapter notes and...according ..to the
following provisions." There is no dispute that the relevant six
digit subheading is subheading 7318.15, HTSUSA. This subheading
describes:

7318.15 Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw
hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers
(including spring washers) and similar
articles, of iron or steel...Threaded
articles...Other screws and bolts, whether or
not with their nuts or washers...

GRI 6, HTSUSA, one of "the following provisions" mentioned
in GRI 1, requires that the GRIs be used to determine the
appropriate eight digit subheading as they are used for the
determination of the correct four and six digit classifications.
There are three subheadings at the eight digit level in
contention. They are subheadings 7318.15.20, 7318.15.50, and
7318.15.80, HTSUSA. These subheadings describe:

7318.15.20 ...Bolts and bolts and their nuts or
washers entered or exported in the same
shipment...

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

7318.15.50 ...Studs...


-3-


* * * * * * * * * * * * *

7318.15.80 ...Other...Having shanks or threads with
a diameter of 6 mm or more...

GRIs 6 and 1 require that the articles being classified must
meet the terms of the subheading. The threaded articles in
question are used for the attachment of the battery cables to the
terminal. The battery cables are attached to the articles
threaded protuberance. It is the opinion of this office that
the subject steel threaded articles are "studs."

Internal Advice #101/84, dated February 15, 1989, dealt with
the classification of steel studs under the former Tariff
Schedules of the United States ("TSUS"). That ruling held:

Studs...are normally short rods or pins threaded on one
or both ends, sometimes with heads on one end to allow
them to be fixed in place resulting in a protuberance
to which other articles are attached by means of a nut.

Headquarters Ruling 074004 ("HQ 074004"), dated April 3,
1986, also addressed the classification of studs under TSUS. HQ
074004 stated:

A stud is a type of bolt, but is distinguished from
"bolts" by its application. That is, a stud is usually
anchored and provides a projection to which something
may be fastened.

HQ 074004 was based upon the Customs Court decision in
Fastening Devices, Inc. v. United States, 40 Cust. Ct. 345, C.D.
2004 (1958). In this case articles of which "the shank end is
inserted in steel or concrete or similar material, and the
threaded portion of the item protrudes from the surface so as to
permit of an attachment to be made..." were found to be studs.

The subject steel hexagonal threaded articles are "studs."
They are properly classified in subheading 7315.15.50.

HOLDING:

In accordance with GRIs 6 and 1, the daisy head steel
threaded articles imported from Japan are studs. As studs, they
are properly classified in subheading 7315.15.50, which describes
"Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters,
cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar
articles, of iron or steel...Threaded articles...Other screws and
bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers...Studs..."


-4-


You should deny the protest except to the extent that the
reclassification of the merchandise as indicated above results in
a partial allowance. A copy of this decision should be attached
to the Form 19 Notice of Action for the protest.

Sincerely,


John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division