Chapter 40: Rubber and articles thereof

1. Except where the context otherwise requires, throughout the nomenclature the expression ‘rubber’ means the following products, whether or not vulcanised or hard: natural rubber, balata, gutta-percha, guayule, chicle and similar natural gums, synthetic rubber, factice derived from oils, and such substances reclaimed.

2. This chapter does not cover:

1. (a) goods of Section XI (textiles and textile articles);

2. (b) footwear or parts thereof of Chapter 64;

3. (c) headgear or parts thereof (including bathing caps) of Chapter 65;

4. (d) mechanical or electrical appliances or parts thereof of Section XVI (including electrical goods of all kinds), of hard rubber;

5. (e) articles of Chapter 90, 92, 94 or 96; or

6. (f) articles of Chapter 95 (other than sports gloves, mittens and mitts and articles of headings 4011 to 4013).

3. In headings 4001 to 4003 and 4005, the expression ‘primary forms’ applies only to the following forms:

1. (a) liquids and pastes (including latex, whether or not pre-vulcanised, and other dispersions and solutions);

2. (b) blocks of irregular shape, lumps, bales, powders, granules, crumbs and similar bulk forms.

4. In note 1 to this chapter and in heading 4002, the expression ‘synthetic rubber’ applies to:

1. (a) unsaturated synthetic substances which can be irreversibly transformed by vulcanisation with sulphur into non-thermoplastic substances which, at a temperature between 18 and 29 °C, will not break on being extended to three times their original length and will return, after being extended to twice their original length, within a period of five minutes, to a length not greater than one-and-a-half times their original length. For the purposes of this test, substances necessary for the cross-linking, such as vulcanising activators or accelerators, may be added; the presence of substances as provided for by note 5(B)(2) and (3) is also permitted. However, the presence of any substances not necessary for the cross-linking, such as extenders, plasticisers and fillers, is not permitted;

2. (b) thioplasts (TM); and

3. (c) natural rubber modified by grafting or mixing with plastics, depolymerised natural rubber, mixtures of unsaturated synthetic substances with saturated synthetic high polymers provided that all the abovementioned products comply with the requirements concerning vulcanisation, elongation and recovery in (a) above.

5.

(A) Headings 4001 and 4002 do not apply to any rubber or mixture of rubbers which has been compounded, before or after coagulation, with:

1. (1) vulcanising agents, accelerators, retarders or activators (other than those added for the preparation of pre-vulcanised rubber latex);

2. (2) pigments or other colouring matter, other than those added solely for the purpose of identification;

3. (3) plasticisers or extenders (except mineral oil in the case of oil-extended rubber), fillers, reinforcing agents, organic solvents or any other substances, except those permitted under (B).

(B) The presence of the following substances in any rubber or mixture of rubbers shall not affect its classification in heading 4001 or 4002, as the case may be, provided that such rubber or mixture of rubbers retains its essential character as a raw material:

1. (1) emulsifiers or anti-tack agents;

2. (2) small amounts of breakdown products of emulsifiers;

3. (3) very small amounts of the following: heat-sensitive agents (generally, for obtaining thermosensitive rubber latexes), cationic surface-active agents (generally, for obtaining electropositive rubber latexes), antioxidants, coagulants, crumbling agents, freeze-resisting agents, peptisers, preservatives, stabilisers, viscosity-control agents, or similar special-purpose additives.

6. For the purposes of heading 4004, the expression ‘waste, parings and scrap’ means rubber waste, parings and scrap from the manufacture or working of rubber and rubber goods definitely not usable as such because of cutting-up, wear or other reasons.

7. Thread wholly of vulcanised rubber, of which any cross-sectional dimension exceeds 5 mm, is to be classified as strip, rods or profile shapes, of heading 4008.

8. Heading 4010 includes conveyor or transmission belts or belting of textile fabric impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with rubber or made from textile yarn or cord impregnated, coated, covered or sheathed with rubber.

9. In headings 4001, 4002, 4003, 4005 and 4008, the expressions ‘plates’, ‘sheets’ and ‘strip’ apply only to plates, sheets and strip and to blocks of regular geometric shape, uncut or simply cut to rectangular (including square) shape, whether or not having the character of articles and whether or not printed or otherwise surface-worked, but not otherwise cut to shape or further worked.

In heading 4008, the expressions ‘rods’ and ‘profile shapes’ apply only to such products, whether or not cut to length or surface-worked but not otherwise worked.

1. Where the woven, knitted or crocheted fabrics, felt or nonwovens are present merely for reinforcing purposes, gloves, mittens or mitts impregnated, coated or covered with cellular rubber belong to Chapter 40, even if they are:

• made up from woven, knitted or crocheted fabrics (other than those of heading 5906), felt or nonwovens impregnated, coated or covered with cellular rubber, or

• made up from unimpregnated, uncoated or uncovered woven, knitted or crocheted fabrics, felt or nonwovens and subsequently impregnated, coated or covered with cellular rubber.

(Note 3(c) to Chapter 56 and note 5, last paragraph, to Chapter 59).