Brass-wind musical instruments and parts -- Section 232 Inclusion Rebuttal Comment Template

Company: [Company legal name] Address: [Company registered address] EIN: [Federal Employer Identification Number] Primary contact: [Primary contact name], [Primary contact title] Email: [Primary contact email] · Phone: [Primary contact phone] Filed via regulations.gov Docket BIS-2026-15961 pursuant to the FR 2026-15961 public-comment framework.

HTSUS subheading: [HTSUS 8-10 digit subheading] [Detailed product description] Provide for each instrument model: HTSUS 8-10 digit subheading (9205.10.00 for brasswind, 9209.99 for parts), instrument class (student/intermediate/professional), bore and bell diameter specifications, valve type (piston, rotary, or Vienna), key or slide configuration, principal alloy composition (yellow brass 70/30, gold brass 85/15, red brass 90/10, nickel-silver bell where applicable), and aluminum content by weight (typically documented on the manufacturer's technical data sheet). Include a copy of the manufacturer's specification sheet plus any pedagogical accreditation documentation (e.g., adoption by a National Association of Schools of Music-accredited program). Where a single inclusion rebuttal comment covers multiple related models, enumerate each model number in an attached schedule.

The domestic brass-wind manufacturing base is documented in U.S. Census Bureau NAICS 339992 (Musical Instrument Manufacturing) and consists of a small number of active producers: S.E. Shires, Getzen, Schilke, Yamaha's U.S. operation (limited SKU set), and a handful of custom builders. None currently produces a full-line student, intermediate, and professional catalog at the specifications and price points that dominate the U.S. school-band and conservatory market. Document each domestic producer contacted, the specification requested, and the response. Reference the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) member directory and the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) accreditation lists to confirm the domestic supplier universe is fully canvassed. Historic BIS methodology (Commerce steel report of January 11, 2018 and aluminum report of January 17, 2018) evaluates capacity at the specific product-specification level, not at the aggregate metal-content level.

Brass-wind musical instruments are finished consumer and educational durable goods with no direct defense supply-chain nexus. The aluminum-derivative primary-metal share of finished-good value is under 12 percent for professional instruments. State this directly: the criterion (i) national-security-nexus analysis of Federal Register notice 2026-15961 is not met on the primary-metal basis. BIS has granted exclusions in prior derivative-article categories where the national-security nexus was weak or absent and the criterion (iii) domestic-capacity finding was determinative -- see the exclusion-grant docket at regulations.gov (Docket BIS-2026-15961) for precedent in Chapter 92, Chapter 83, and Chapter 96 finished-goods categories. The inclusion rebuttal comment should proceed principally on the criterion (iii) basis (no domestic full-line producer) with the national-security-nexus limitation stated candidly rather than overstated.

[Domestic suppliers contacted with dates] Contact each active U.S.-based brass-wind manufacturer identified through the NAMM member directory (namm.org), NASM's affiliated-institution supplier lists (nasm.arts-accredit.org), and the U.S. Commercial Service musical-instrument industry contact list. Written inquiry to each producer requesting whether the specific model, specification, and annual quantity can be supplied on the required delivery timeline at a price competitive with the imported instrument. 30-day minimum response window. Retain all correspondence in the inclusion-rebuttal file. Objectors have 30 days from posting of this rebuttal comment on regulations.gov to file counter-comments; expect potential objection from S.E. Shires (professional trumpets, trombones) or Getzen (student/intermediate lines) and pre-address the specification-match question in the request narrative.

Quantify the 25 percent duty pass-through impact on [Annual customs value USD] of imports at HTSUS [HTSUS 8-10 digit subheading] to the downstream customer base. The brass-wind U.S. market ships materially into K-12 school-band programs, community-college and university music programs, and private-lesson households -- price sensitivity is high and demand is functionally fixed by school-band enrollment. Include: (i) 12-month CBP entry summaries (redacted as needed for competitive sensitivity); (ii) downstream customer segment analysis showing the percentage of unit volume shipped to school-band programs versus retail music dealers versus direct-to-conservatory sales; (iii) documented projection of unit-sales elasticity based on prior tariff-round pass-through observed in 2018-2019 (see NAMM's Global Report data on price-elasticity in the school-band segment).

The professional brass-wind supply base is globally concentrated in a small number of source countries -- Germany (Yamaha's Vienna and Meister Hans Hoyer operations, plus B&S), Japan (Yamaha, Nikkan), Taiwan (Jupiter/XO), and China (student-grade production). Document contact with alternate-country producers at the specific model and quantity. Note that conservatory pedagogy typically endorses a specific short-list of manufacturers, and substitution across manufacturers is not commercially interchangeable in the professional segment -- an orchestral trumpet player under contract to a specific horn cannot substitute a different brand of horn without a multi-week acclimation and, often, a formal audition change.

1. BIS Section 232 Exclusion Portal, historical determinations addressing finished Chapter 92 musical-instrument categories where domestic production is a niche fraction of U.S. consumption (searchable public docket, regulations.gov (Docket BIS-2026-15961)). 2. Presidential Proclamation 9704 of March 8, 2018 (Adjusting Imports of Aluminum into the United States), 83 Fed. Reg. 11619 (establishing the initial Section 232 aluminum action); Presidential Proclamation 10895 of February 10, 2025 (Adjusting Imports of Steel Into the United States) and Presidential Proclamation 10896 of February 10, 2025 (Adjusting Imports of Aluminum Into the United States), which together terminated the 15 CFR § 705.5 product-specific exclusion process and established the current derivative-article rulemaking mechanism under which Federal Register notice 2026-15961 was issued. 3. Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security, 'The Effect of Imports of Aluminum on the National Security,' January 17, 2018, at 20-31 (primary-metal-share-of-finished-good analytical framework). 4. the public comment mechanism established by Federal Register notice 2026-15961 (August 6, 2026), operative under the notice-and-comment rulemaking framework of 5 U.S.C. § 553(c); 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (false statements to a federal agency) (material-misstatement provisions). 5. Federal Register notice 2026-15961 (August 6, 2026), criteria (i) national-security-nexus and (iii) domestic-capacity. 6. U.S. Census Bureau NAICS 339992 (Musical Instrument Manufacturing) annual domestic-production statistics; National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Global Report annual industry data.

This public comment is submitted in opposition to the proposed Section 232 derivative-article inclusion of brass-wind musical instruments and their parts (HTSUS headings 9205 and 9209) contemplated by Federal Register notice 2026-15961. [Company legal name] requests a product-specific exclusion for brass-wind instruments and their valve and slide replacement parts. The aluminum-derivative nexus is limited: brass instruments are copper-zinc bodies with only trace aluminum in select bracing; primary-metal share of finished-good value is under 12 percent for professional horns. No U.S. producer manufactures a full-line professional brass-wind catalog at conservatory-accepted specification. For the reasons set forth below, [Company legal name] respectfully urges BIS to decline inclusion of these subheadings in the final Section 232 derivative-article coverage. Should BIS proceed with inclusion notwithstanding this comment, [Company legal name] requests that BIS incorporate a 24-month transition and adjustment period covering the specific HTSUS subheadings identified below. Requested transition-and-adjustment period if BIS proceeds with inclusion: [Requested transition-and-adjustment period if BIS proceeds with inclusion - typically 12 months] months.

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (false statements to a federal agency) and the identification requirements of 5 U.S.C. § 553(c), I attest that the statements in this comment are true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, and that I am authorized to submit this comment on behalf of [Company legal name]. _________________________________ [Primary contact name], [Primary contact title] [Company legal name] [Primary contact email] · [Primary contact phone] Submitted via regulations.gov Docket BIS-2026-15961: 2026-08-26 --- **Draft Status: v0 -- attorney-review-pending.** This template was auto-generated by TariffWatch from Federal Register notice 2026-15961, Presidential Proclamations 10895 and 10896 (Feb 10, 2025 -- terminating the 15 CFR § 705.5 exclusion-request process), and publicly available BIS Section 232 rulemaking materials. Not legal advice, not customs classification advice under 19 CFR 111. Consult qualified counsel or a licensed customs broker before submitting to regulations.gov Docket BIS-2026-15961. Every substantive claim in this request that is factual to your business -- HTSUS subheading, annual quantity, annual customs value, cost-impact projections, sourcing country, domestic-supplier contacts -- must be verified by the submitter before filing. TariffWatch (Digital Empire Holdings LLC) makes no representation as to the sufficiency of this request for any specific regulatory outcome.