HQ 960948

September 11, 1998

CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 960948 PH

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 7002.20.10; 7020.00.60; 9001.10.00

Ms. Mary E. Gill

Lucent Technologies

Guilford Center 1 - 3A10

5420 Millstream Road

Greensboro, NC 27420

RE: NY B85983 revoked; glass rods; unworked; other articles of

glass; optical fiber; preforms; incomplete or unfinished;

essential character; Note 2(a), Chapter 70; GRI 2(a); ENs

Rule 2(a)(II); 70.02; 90.01; Blakley Corp. v. United States;

Ugg International, Inc. v. United States; Winter-Wolff,

Inc., v. United States; Sharp Microelectronics Technology,

Inc. v. United States; Superior Wire v. United States

Dear Ms. Gill:

On June 18, 1997, New York Ruling Letter (NY) B85983 was

issued to you concerning \"glass preforms\" made from fused silica.

You were advised that the merchandise was classifiable in

subheading 7002.20.1000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United

States (HTSUS), as glass rods, unworked, of fused quartz or other

fused silica.

This letter is to inform you that NY B85983 no longer

reflects the view of Customs. Pursuant to section 625(c)(1),

Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1625(c)(1)), as amended by section

623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American

Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub.L. 103-182, 107

Stat. 2057, 2186), notice of the proposed revocation of NY B85983

was published on July 1, 1998, in the CUSTOMS BULLETIN, Volume

32, Number 26. Our position, set forth below, addresses the

comments received in response to the notice.

FACTS:

NY B85983 described the merchandise, \"glass preforms\", as

solid glass rods made from fused silica. According to NY B85983,

the glass preforms are the rods from which glass optical fiber is

fabricated.

Optical fiber consists of \"\[a\] long thin strand of

transparent glass, plastic, or other material usually consisting

of a fiber optical core and a fiber optical cladding capable of

conducting light along its axial length by internal reflection\"

(U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) Publication 2851,

February 1995, Industry & Trade Summary, Optical Fiber, Cable,

and Bundles, B-2). The core and the cladding of optical fibers

always have a different refractive index (\"\[a\] key design feature

of all optical fibers is that the refractive index of the core is

higher than the refractive index of the cladding\" (Fiber Optic

Reference Guide, David R. Goff (1996), 11). A glass preform such

as those under consideration is \"\... a magnified version of the

fiber to be drawn from it\" (USITC Publication 2851, supra, B-2).

That is, the optical characteristics (including attenuation,

dispersion, single or multi-mode, and wavelength (Fiber Optic

Reference Guide, supra, at 20-30; Just the Facts, A basic

overview of fiber optics, Corning (1995), at 15-19; McGraw-Hill

Encyclopedia of Science & Technology (6th ed. 1987), vol. 12,

414-415, Optical fibers)) of the optical fiber which will be

drawn from the preform are determined by the preform.

The manufacturing process for producing preforms is

generally described as follows in the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of

Chemical Technology (4th ed., vol. 4 (1994) Glass, 555, 615):

\... \[P\]ure chlorides are entrained in an oxygen

carrier-gas system, accurately metered, transported, and

then react at temperatures about 1500øC. The chloride

reaction with oxygen, to form the desired oxides plus

chlorine gas, is virtually homogeneous and produces a finely

divided particulate glass material commonly called soot. \...

The glass soot is formed into solid inclusion-free glass

bodies, which are then heated to temperatures where the

glass is fluid enough to be drawn into optical fibers.

The preforms under consideration are produced by a two-step

process. In the first step, the core layer of the preform is

produced by a method called \"Vapor Axial Deposition\" (VAD).

Extremely fine \"dusts\" or \"soots\" of silica tetrachloride and

additional chemicals are grown or deposited on the end of a

\"target\" rod, forming a column of the \"dust\" or \"soot\" material.

The column is drawn though a furnace, fusing it into a rod and

releasing the chlorine. In the second step, the cladding layer

of the preform is added by fusing to the outside of the core rod

a layer of silica dioxide powder. Such a two-step production

process is described in Kirk-Othmer, supra, 616, as follows:

\... Sometimes a two-step process can be employed for

efficiency. A preform is made which is roughly half core

and half cladding. The sintered preform is then drawn into

rod and then overclad with pure silica soot to obtain the

appropriate core/clad ratio.

After deposit of the silica dioxide powder or soot to form

the cladding layer of the preform, the \"target\" rod on which the

core layer was deposited or grown is removed. This phase of the

process is described in Fiber Optic Reference Guide, supra, 16,

as follows:

\... When the deposition is complete, the rod is

removed, and the deposited material is placed into a

consolidation furnace. The water vapor is removed, and the

preform is collapsed to become dense, transparent glass.

The core and cladding of the preform consist of glass with

different refractive indexes. Kirk-Othmer, supra, at 615,

describes the respective refractive indexes and materials of a

typical single-mode fiber (according to Kirk-Othmer, supra, at

614, more than 90% of the optical fiber market is comprised of

single-mode fiber) as follows:

The core, which has a step refractive index profile, is an 8

wt % GeO2 + 92 wt % SiO2 glass. The germania raises the

refractive index to about 1.4585. The refractive index of

the pure silica cladding is about 1.4534. That difference

in refractive index is sufficient to guide the laser light

with minimum distortion.

The resulting article, in the form of a rod approximately 62

millimeters in diameter and 1500 millimeters in length, may be

flame polished using an oxyhydrogen flame to achieve a smooth

surface, if necessary.

To produce optical fiber from the preform, the preform is

heated and drawn into a continuous strand of \"hair-thin\" optical

fiber (Fiber Optic Reference Guide, supra, at 15). In USITC

Publication 2851, supra, the process is described as follows:

\... The preform descends from a platform just below the top

of a vertical draw tower into a furnace heated at very high

temperatures to soften the glass. The softened glass is

drawn by gravity to produce a fiber that is captured on

spinning capstans and wheels \[at 1, footnote 3\].

A single preform can yield more than 30 miles of fiber (see

Collier\'s Encyclopedia (1996), vol. 9, Fiber optics, \"\[a\] two-foot
(60-cm) tube can yield more than 30 miles (50 km) of

fiber\").

The optical fiber which is drawn from the preform is then

protectively coated. See Fiber Optic Reference Guide, supra, at

15-16:

The optical fiber is encased in several protective layers to

ensure integrity under various conditions. The first layer

is applied to the glass fiber as it is drawn from the

preform. This coating is generally made of ultraviolet-curable acrylate
or silicone, and it serves as a moisture

shield and as mechanical protection during the early stages

of cable production. A secondary buffer is often extruded

over the primary coating to further improve the fiber\'s

strength.

See also, Just the Facts, A basic overview of fiber optics,

supra, p. 8, Coating.

The subheadings under consideration are as follows:

7002.20.10: Glass in balls (other than microspheres of

heading 7018), rods or tubes, unworked: \...

Rods: Of fused quartz or other fused silica.

The 1998 general column one rate of duty for goods classifiable

under this provision is 0.9% ad valorem.

7020.00.60: Other articles of glass: \... Other.

The 1998 general column one rate of duty for goods classifiable

under this provision is 5.3% ad valorem.

9001.10.00: Optical fibers and optical fiber bundles:

optical fiber cables other than those of

heading 8544 \...: Optical fibers, optical

fiber bundles and cables.

The 1998 general column one rate of duty for goods classifiable

under this provision is 7% ad valorem.

ISSUE:

Whether the glass preforms are classifiable as unworked

glass in rods in subheading 7002.20.10, HTSUS, other articles of

glass in subheading 7020.00.60, HTSUS, or optical fibers in

subheading 9001.10.00, HTSUS.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff

Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in accordance with 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 provided the headings or notes do not

require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6. GRI 2(a)

provides, in pertinent part, that:

\(a\) Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken

to include a reference to that article incomplete or

unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or

unfinished article has the essential character of the

complete or finished article. \...

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System

Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of

the Harmonized System. While not legally binding on the

contracting parties, and therefore not dispositive, the ENs

provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the

Harmonized System and are thus useful in ascertaining the

classification of merchandise. Customs believes the ENs should

always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, published in the Federal

Register August 23, 1989 (54 FR 35127, 35128).

The preforms have the shape of a rod (see Webster\'s New

World Dictionary (3rd Coll. Ed. 1988) rod \"3 any straight, or

almost straight, stick, shaft, bar, staff, etc., of wood, metal,

or other material \...\"). To be classifiable as glass in rods in

subheading 7002.20.10, the preforms must be \"unworked.\"

Note 2(a), Chapter 70, HTSUS, provides that:

For the purposes of headings 7003, 7004 and 7005 \... \[g\]lass

is not regarded as \"worked\" by reason of any process it has

undergone before annealing\[.\]

As for the issue of whether this definition applies to

heading 7002, the Court in Blakley Corp. v. United States, CIT

Slip Op. 98-94 (CUSTOMS BULLETIN, July 29, 1998, vol. 32, no. 30,

45), considered a similar issue (whether the definition of the

term \"slab\" in Additional U.S. Note 1 of Chapter 68, HTSUS,

applies throughout Chapter 68 or only for purposes of heading

6802, as provided in the Note). The Court stated that \"Congress\'

intent to limit the descriptions contained in Notes 1 and 2

\[defining \"tiles\" for purposes of heading 6810\] could scarcely be

made more clear\" (CUSTOMS BULLETIN, July 29, 1998, vol. 32, no.

30, at 50). Similarly, in this case, Congress\' intent to limit

the description contained in Note 2(a) to the named headings (not

including heading 7002) could scarcely be made more clear. The

limitation of \"worked\" in Note 2(a), Chapter 70, HTSUS, is

inapplicable to heading 7002, HTSUS.

EN 70.02 states, in part, that:

This heading covers \... \[g\]lass rods and tubing of

various diameters, which are generally obtained by drawing

(combined with blowing in the case of tubing); they may be

used for may purposes (e.g., for chemical or industrial

apparatus; in the textile industry; for further manufacture

into thermometers, ampoules, electric or electronic bulbs

and valves, or ornaments). Certain tubes for fluorescent

lighting (used mainly for advertising purposes) are drawn

with partitions running through the length.

. . .

Balls of this heading must be unworked; similarly rod

and tubing must be unworked (i.e., as obtained direct from

the drawing process or merely cut into lengths the ends of

which may have been simply smoothed).

The heading excludes balls, rod and tubing made into

finished articles or parts of finished articles recognisable

as such; these are classified under the appropriate heading

(e.g., heading 70.11, 70.17 or 7018, or Chapter 90). If

worked, but not recognisable as being intended for a

particular purpose, they fall in heading 70.20.

This heading includes tubes (whether or not cut to

length) of glass which has had fluorescent material added to

it in the mass. On the other hand, tubes coated inside with

fluorescent material, whether or not otherwise worked, are

excluded (heading 70.11).

Basically, the preforms under consideration are manufactured

by depositing a powder or soot of silica tetrachloride and

additional chemicals on a \"target\" glass rod to form a column of

silica tetrachloride powder (with the additional chemicals). The

column is drawn through a furnace, resulting in a rod of fused

silica dioxide and the additional chemicals and the release of

the chlorine gas. Onto this rod is deposited powder or soot of

silica dioxide which is fused on the outside of the core rod.

The \"target\" rod is removed and the result is a solid rod of

silica glass consisting of a core and cladding, each of different

materials and with a different refractive index. This solid rod

may be flame polished to achieve a smooth surface.

The preforms are not \"unworked\", as that term is defined in

EN 70.02. That is, discounting \"work\" on the \"target\" rod which

is removed from the preform and is not imported, according to the

importer\'s description, a rod of the core soots is created in the

first step of manufacture. That rod is then \"worked\" by the

addition to it of cladding soots which are fused onto it. These

cladding soots make up a layer of glass over the core rod which

has different characteristics than the core rod. The core rod

with cladding is then further \"worked\" by the removal of the

\"target\" rod. Clearly, the preform is not \"as obtained directly

from the drawing process\" (EN 70.02, above). Instead of being an

article as obtained directly from a simple manufacturing process,

as described in EN 70.02 (e.g., moulding, pressing, drawing,

blowing), the preform is obtained from a complex manufacturing

process in which a rod is first created and then \"worked\" (in

this regard, see, e.g., the distinction in the EN between tubes

of glass which have had fluorescent material added to in the

mass, included in heading 7002, and tubes coated inside with

fluorescent material, excluded from heading 7002). Furthermore,

even after the core rod is \"worked\" with the addition of the

cladding layer and the removal of the \"target\" rod, according to

the importer the article may be further \"worked\" by flame

polishing (in this regard, we note the limitation in EN 70.02 on

the working of articles in heading 7002 to \"merely cut\[ting\] into

lengths the ends of which may have been simply smoothed\"

(emphasis added; note that this provision permits only \"the ends\"

to be simply smoothed)).

This interpretation of the term \"unworked\" in heading 7002

is consistent with the general treatment of merchandise in

different stages of manufacture (see Ruth Sturm, Customs Law &

Administration, 3rd ed. (1993), §54.3, \"\[t\]here is often a

progression of increasing duties from the raw material through

various intermediate stages to the article manufactured from the

original material\"; see also, Ugg International, Inc. v. United

States, 17 CIT 79, 85-86, 813 F. Supp. 848 (1993)). It is also

consistent with a recent case of the Court of International

Trade. In Winter-Wolff, Inc., v. United States, CIT Slip Op. 98-15
(Customs Bulletin and Decisions, March 25, 1998, vol. 32, no.

12, 71), the Court interpreted the term \"further worked\" as it

appears in subheading 7607.11.30, HTSUS. After determining that

the common meaning of the term was applicable (ibid at 74-75, on

the basis of the presumption that the commercial meaning of a

term is the same as its common meaning unless the party who

argues that the meanings are different proves that \"there is a

different commercial meaning in existence which is definite,

uniform, and general throughout the trade\"), the Court reviewed

the dictionary meaning of the words. The Court concluded:

When cobbled together, this dictionary meaning amounts to

the following: to form, fashion, or shape an existing

product to a greater extent.\" \[ibid at 79.\]

The production process for the preforms exactly meets this

definition. An existing product (the core rod) is formed,

fashioned, or shaped to a greater extent (by deposition of

cladding soots on it and fusing of those soots to it, removal of

the \"target\" rod, and after that by flame polishing as

necessary).

Accordingly, on the basis of EN 70.02 and the Court\'s

analysis of \"further worked\" in Winter-Wolff, supra (based on the

common and commercial meaning of the term), we conclude that the

preforms do not qualify as \"unworked\" for purposes of heading

7002, HTSUS. Therefore, they may not be classified under

subheading 7002.20.10, HTSUS.

We note that this position is not inconsistent with the

history of consideration of this issue at the Customs Co-operation
Council (CCC) during the drafting of the EN (see CCC

Documents 31.738, August 31, 1984; 31.820, September 21, 1984;

and 32.550/32.551, Annex D/9). CCC Document 31.738 is a report

of a proposal by the Canadian administration that glass preforms

such as those under consideration be classified in heading 7020

and that the EN for that heading be amended to specifically so

provide. According to the CCC Document, the Secretariat was of

the opinion that the preforms were classifiable in heading 7002

and that heading 7020 could be discounted. The CCC Document

states that if the view of the Secretariat was accepted, a

reference should be added to EN 70.02, stating that the heading

includes the glass preforms.

As stated above, CCC Document 31.738 contains a proposal

regarding the classification of glass preforms. Subsequent CCC

documents describe the action taken in response to this proposal.

CCC Document 31.820, September 21, 1984, reported that

consideration of the question was being deferred for further

study. CCC Document 32.550/32.551, Annex D/9 reported the final

action on the proposal, stating that the Nomenclature Committee

had decided, by a 9 to 4 vote, that the preforms were

classifiable in heading 7020 and that the Interim Harmonized

System Committee (IHSC) had decided, by a 6 to 5 vote, that they

were classifiable in heading 7002. In view of this situation,

the document reports that \"it was decided that the question

should remain outstanding and no reference be made in the \[EN\].\"

Thus, this history is inconclusive as to classification of the

glass preforms in heading 7002 or 7020.

Optical fibers covered by subheading 9001.10.00, HTSUS, are

described in EN 90.01 as follows:

Optical fibres consist of concentric layers of glass or

plastics of different refractive indices. Those drawn from

glass have a very thin coating of plastics, invisible to the

naked eye, which renders the fibres less prone to fracture.

Optical fibres are usually presented on reels and may be

several kilometers in length. \...

Because a preform is \"\... a magnified version of the fiber

to be drawn from it\" (USITC Publication 2851, supra, B-2) and

determines the optical characteristics of the optical fiber which

will be drawn from it (see above), it may be argued that, on the

basis of GRI 2(a), the preforms are classifiable in subheading

9001.10.00, HTSUS, as incomplete or unfinished optical fiber. To

be classified as an incomplete or unfinished article under GRI

2(a), the article must have the essential character of the

complete or finished article.

In determining the essential character of an article under

the HTSUS, the Courts have looked to the function or use of the

article. See Sharp Microelectronics Technology, Inc. v. United

States, 932 F. Supp. 1499, 1504-1505 (CIT 1996), affirmed 122

F.3d 1446 (1997), in which the Court cited the applicable EN to

determine that the essential character, for purposes of GRI 2(a),

of automatic data processing machines under heading 8471 is given

by \"\... the ability to process data \....\" See also Mita Copystar

America, Inc. v. United States, CIT Slip Op. 97-73 (1997); Better

Home Plastics Corp. v. United States, CIT Slip Op. 96-35 (1996),

affirmed, CAFC Appeal No. 96-1322 (1997); and Vista International

Packaging Co., v. United States, 19 CIT 868 (1995), in which the

Court looked to the role of the constituent material in relation

to the use of the goods of which the material was a part in

determining essential character, for purposes of GRI 3(b).

The function or use of optical fibers is to transmit

information in the form of light through very thin flexible

strands (see Random House Unabridged Dictionary (2d ed. 1993),

\"optical fiber, a very thin flexible glass or plastic strand

along which large quantities of information can be transmitted in

the form of light pulses: used in telecommunications, medicine,

and other fields\"; see also USITC Publication 2851, supra, B-2,

defining \"Optical Fiber\" as \"\[a\] long thin strand of transparent

glass, plastic, or other material usually consisting of a fiber

optical core and a fiber optical cladding capable of conducting

light along its axial length by internal reflection\"; and Fiber

Optic Reference Guide, supra, at 11 (\"\[o\]ptical fibers are

extremely thin strands of ultra-pure glass designed to transmit

light from a transmitter to a receiver\").

Although the optical characteristics of the optical fiber

may be determined by the preform from which the fiber is drawn,

the preform does not have the essential physical characteristics

necessary for practical use as optical fiber. It is neither thin

nor flexible (in regard to the latter, we understand that \"the

recognized industry-standard bend diameter\" provides for the

looping of fiber with bend diameters as small as two inches (Just

the Facts, A basic overview of fiber optics, supra, page 15,

Bending Parameters)). These characteristics (thinness and

flexibility) are necessary for the usages of optical fibers (see

USITC Publication 2851, supra, at 1, wherein it is stated

\"\[o\]ptical fiber systems now carry the bulk of long-distance

telecommunications traffic in the United States,\" and other

communication uses are described; the relatively thick,

inflexible preform simply could not be so used). The statement

in EN 90.01 that \"\[o\]ptical fibres are usually presented on reels

and may be several kilometers in length\" supports the treatment

of thinness and flexibility as essential characteristics of

optical fibers.

EN GRI Rule 2(a)(II) provides that:

The provisions of this Rule also apply to blanks unless

these are specified in a particular heading. The term

\"blank\" means an article, not ready for direct use, having

the approximate shape or outline of the finished article or

part, and which can only be used, other than in exceptional

cases, for completion into the finished article or part

(e.g., bottle preforms of plastics being intermediate

products having tubular shape, with one closed end and one

open end threaded to secure a screw type closure, the

portion below the threaded end being intended to be expanded

to a desired size and shape).

Semi-manufactures not yet having the essential shape of

the finished articles (such as is generally the case with

bars, discs, tubes, etc.) are not regarded as \"blanks\".

The preforms may not be classified as incomplete or

unfinished optical fiber under EN GRI Rule 2(a)(II) because they

do not have the approximate shape or outline of the finished

article (the preforms are relatively thick and inflexible;

optical fiber is very thin and flexible). Preforms are
\"\[s\]emi-manufactures not yet having the essential shape of the
finished

articles\", just as in the second paragraph of EN GRI Rule

2(a)(II), above (note the reference to semi-manufactures such as

\"bars\" above, note also that the dictionary definition of \"rod\",

supra, includes bars). This also supports treatment of the

preforms as other than incomplete or unfinished optical fiber.

Furthermore, we note that the parenthetical exception for bottle

preforms of plastics in the first paragraph of EN GRI Rule

2(a)(II), added to the EN by amendment in 1997 (CCC Document

41.285 E, August 7, 1997) adds support to the position that the

glass preforms in this case are not incomplete or unfinished

optical fiber (i.e., the ENs were specifically amended to provide

for the classification of the bottle preforms as incomplete or

unfinished articles and although the analogous issue for the

glass preforms was quite thoroughly considered (see CCC Documents

31.738, 31.820, and 32.550/32.551, Annex D/9, referred to above),

no such provision was made for the glass preforms).

A comment received in response to the notice in the July 1,

1998, CUSTOMS BULLETIN cited Court decisions (principally

Superior Wire v. United States, 11 CIT 608, 669 F. Supp. 472

(1987), affirmed 7 Fed. Cir. (T) 43, 867 F.2d 1409 (1989)) on

substantial transformation in regard to classification of the

glass preforms as incomplete or unfinished optical fiber in

subheading 9001.10.00, HTSUS. We do not believe that such

decisions are necessarily relevant. In any case, we believe that

the facts in Superior Wire are distinguished from the facts in

this case. In Superior Wire, the Court held that wire rod which

had been cold drawn into wire, with a reduction in cross-sectional area
of about 30% but the strength characteristic

unchanged, as metallurgically predetermined in the manufacture of

the wire rod, was not substantially transformed for purposes of

the applicability of a voluntary restraint agreement (VRA). Cold

drawing of wire is a relatively simple process, basically

involving only the drawing (or pulling) of material through dies

(see McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, vol. 5,

406 (1987), Drawing of metal). The production of optical fiber

from a preform involves drawing the preform through a furnace

heated at very high temperatures and the encasement of the glass

fiber in several protective layers (see FACTS, above). The

effect of the cold drawing on the form of the wire rod in

Superior Wire, was a reduction in its cross-sectional area of

approximately 30%, whereas the preforms are reduced in diameter

from 62 millimeters to a \"hair-thin strand\" (USITC Publication

2851, supra, 1; see also Fiber Optic Reference Guide, supra, at

27, describing popular fiber core/cladding sizes). As noted

above, the length of the preforms is also very significantly

changed (a single preform can yield more than 30 miles of fiber).

Accordingly, the preforms may not be classified as unworked

glass in rods in subheading 7002.20.10, HTSUS, because they are

worked. Neither may the preforms be classified in subheading

9001.10.00, HTSUS, as incomplete or unfinished optical fiber

(because the preforms do not have the essential character of

optical fiber, and on the basis of EN GRI Rule 2(a)(II)).

Therefore, we conclude that the preforms are classifiable under

the provision for other articles of glass, other, in subheading

7020.00.60, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

The glass preforms are classifiable as other articles of

glass in subheading 7020.00.60, HTSUS, and not as unworked glass

in rods in subheading 7002.20.10, HTSUS, or incomplete or

unfinished optical fibers in subheading 9001.10.00, HTSUS.

EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:

NY B85983 dated June 18, 1997, is REVOKED. In accordance

with 19 U.S.C. 625(c)(1), this ruling will become effective 60

days after its publication in the CUSTOMS BULLETIN.

Publication of rulings or decisions pursuant to 19 U.S.C.

625(c)(1) does not constitute a change of practice or position in

accordance with section 177.10 (c)(1), Customs Regulations \[19

CFR 177.10(c)(1)\].

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

Commercial Rulings Division