Interpretation ID: 7417
220 West 14th Street
National City, CA 9l950
FAX 619-477-6249
Dear Mr. Flagstad:
This responds to your FAX of July 24, 1992, seeking clarification of our letter to you of July 20.
This matter concerns the importation of a 1981 Kenworth truck from Canada that was manufactured in that country. The truck entered pursuant to the declaration that the vehicle was manufactured to conform to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards, and bore a certification label to that effect. The current owner of the truck says that it bears no U.S. certification label. Our earlier letter informed you that entry under the conformance and certification provisions was therefore erroneous, and that the truck should have been imported under the new provisions for importing nonconforming motor vehicles that became effective on the day of importation.
Your letter of July 24 states that a certification label was attached at the time of importation, and you have asked "As the Certification Label was on the truck at the time it came through Customs, how would this affect the entry status of this vehicle?"
Assuming that the truck bore a certification label, the question is whether the label certified compliance to the U.S. or Canadian Federal motor vehicle safety standards. If the manufacturer certified compliance to the Canadian standards, then my previous advice remains in effect: the entry of this truck as a vehicle conforming, and certified as conforming, to U.S. safety standards was erroneous.
If, on the other hand, the manufacturer certified compliance to the U.S. standards, the truck was properly entered.
However, it appears more likely than not that such certification as may have been affixed was to the Canadian standards. We understand that the truck lacked equipment necessary for conformance to Standard No. 121, "Air Brake Systems", and that its VIN did not consist of 17 characters. These were requirements of the U.S., but not the Canadian, Federal motor vehicle safety standards at the time the truck was manufactured.
The apparently erroneous admission by the U.S. Customs service is understandable. Canada permits certification either in the form of a "National Safety Mark" (maple leaf) or a statement of compliance with "Federal motor vehicle safety standards", the identical phrase used in U.S. certification labels. When a Canadian manufacturer employs this certification statement, a closer examination of the certification label is necessary. If GAWR and GVWR ratings are expressed in pounds, the certification is to the U.S. standards; if expressed in kilograms, the certification covers the requirements of Canada.
Sincerely,
Paul Jackson Rice Chief Counsel
cc: Ms Joan Moniz 45623 Halekou Road Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744
ref:591#115#VSA d:8/12/92