CIT Rules on Classification of Amides, Chemical 'Derivatives'

A chemical imported by Chemtall is not an amide, but is instead a derivative of an amide, even though it underwent no process to transform it from an amide, said the Court of International Trade in a decision issued May 25 (here). Chemtall had originally classified its acrylamide tertiary butyl sulfonic acid (ATBS) as an amide under subheading 2924.19.11, dutiable at 3.7%. CBP disagreed, classifying it as a derivative of an amide under subheading 2924.19.80, which has a 6.5% duty rate. The court agreed that the chemical is not an amide because, according to the Explanatory Notes, amides include only an amide functional group and some combination of hydrogen groups and aryl or alkyl radicals. ATBS includes a substituted hydrocarbyl as one component, partly made of sulfur. Chemtall argued its ATBS is not a processed form of amide, and therefore cannot be a “derivative of an amide,” but CIT said “derivative” refers to a compound structurally related to another compound, not solely a compound chemically produced from another compound. “Here, ATBS is a derivative of acrylamide because they share the same chemical structure except for the [hydrocarbyl compound].”