April 2018 — Question 65
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which of the following processes does NOT confer origin for verification of heading 2710?
- ACatalytic hydroprocessing
- BCracking
- CVacuum distillation
- DEliminating solvents, including solvent water✓ CBP's answer
- EAtmospheric distillation Category XI – Fines and Penalties
Why this answer
NAFTA origin for petroleum products of heading 2710 is controlled by the chapter 27 rules of General Note 12(t), which under the edition tested recognize specified refining operations as conferring origin, including atmospheric distillation, vacuum distillation, catalytic hydroprocessing, and cracking, the processes named in the other four options. Eliminating solvents, including solvent water, is not among the listed origin-conferring processes; a clean-up step of that kind does not transform the product for NAFTA purposes. The distillation answers tempt candidates who dismiss them as routine processing, but they are expressly named in the rule while solvent elimination is not. Watch for: Dismissing distillation as mere routine processing when the rule expressly names it as origin-conferring.
Original CBLE Simulator explanation — the question and key above are CBP's; this analysis is ours. Verify against the current edition before relying on it in practice.
CBP's cited authority
Answer and citations as published in CBP's official answer key for the April 2018 examination.
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