The Court of International Trade recently reversed itself and ruled that radial, web, and chordal fabric segments used in the production of aircraft brake discs are classified not as aircraft parts under HTSUS 8803.20.00 (duty-free) but rather as other made-up textile articles under HTSUS 6307.90.98 (7 percent duty).
The products at issue are made from non-woven polyacrylonitrile fiber fabric material. The radial and chordal segments are made by needling web and unidirectional tow fabrics together to form a duplex fabric, while the web segments are made by needling tows of oxidized PAN fiber in a manner that results in a web of fibers. After importation the segments are used to produce preforms that are subjected to a carbonization cycle in a furnace after which they no longer exhibit the fabric quality of the imported segments and instead become rigid, solid, and inflexible. The preforms then go through a months-long densification process yielding a final product that is manufactured into aircraft brake discs.
In January 2025 the CIT concluded that the segments are classifiable as aircraft parts because they are suitable for use in the preforms, require no further processing prior to such use, and have no other substantial commercial application.
However, following a motion for rehearing, the CIT has determined that the preforms themselves are not classifiable as aircraft parts and so the segments aren’t either. It is true that the segments are identifiable to the downstream article (the brake discs) and are used for no other purpose, the court said, and that classification of an imported good as a part is not precluded simply because the article of which it is a part undergoes further processing. However, the court added, meeting the requirements for a part requires an article to be a finished part or to meet the requirements for an unfinished part pursuant to GRI 2(a) when the terms of the relevant heading expressly include parts.
The CIT thus continues to find that the segments are finished parts in relation to the preforms but now adds that the preforms themselves are not finished parts in relation to the brake discs. The court explains that this is because the preforms are not suitable for their intended use without undergoing substantial additional processing.
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