United States International Trade Commision Rulings And Harmonized Tariff Schedule
faqs.org  Rulings By Number  Rulings By Category  Tariff Numbers
faqs.org > Rulings and Tariffs Home > Rulings By Number > 1990 HQ Rulings > HQ 0083792 - HQ 0083889 > HQ 0083822

Previous Ruling Next Ruling



HQ 083822


May 1, 1989

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 083822 SM

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6307.90.9030

Mr. Lee Hardeman
P.O. Box 45545
Atlanta, GA 30320-0545

RE: Tariff classification of nylon boat covers

Dear Mr. Hardeman:

Your letter of February 2, 1989, on behalf of L. S. Brown Company, DBA Dixie International, addressed to Customs at Savannah, requesting a tariff classification ruling for certain boat covers, has been referred to this office for reply.

FACTS:

A sample of the fabric, though not of the finished boat cover, was submitted. You state that it is water-repellant nylon taffeta. You also state that the covers will be fitted, of the type used to cover speed and ski boats in transit to recreational areas. The fabric is to be imported from Taiwan or South Korea into a Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) or Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) beneficiary country. You estimate that the value of the fabric will con- stitute 80 percent of the U.S. entered value of the finished boat covers. You wish to know whether the covers will qualify for a duty preference under either program.

ISSUE:

How are the boat covers classified? Are they eligible for a duty preference under the CBERA or GSP?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined first in accordance with the terms of the headings of the tariff and any relative section and chapter notes and then, if the headings and notes do not otherwise require, in accordance with the remaining GRI's.

No heading of the tariff provides specifically for boat covers or for parts and accessories for pleasure boats. Head- ing 6306, HTSUSA, includes tarpaulins, which are waterproof. The Explanatory Notes (EN), the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at the international level, state that this heading includes specially shaped tarpaulins such as those for cover- ing decks of small vessels, but only if such tarpaulins are flat. Since the boat covers in question are fitted, they do not fall under this provision. They are therefore classified under subheading 6307.90.9030, HTSUSA, a provision for other made up textile articles.

Articles classified under this subheading are eligible for duty-free treatment under the GSP, provided they meet the statutory requirements of that program. In general, these requirements are that the eligible article be imported direct- ly from a beneficiary developing country (BDC) into the customs territory of the United States, and that the sum of (1) the cost or value of the materials produced in the BDC plus (2) the direct costs of processing operations performed in the BDC equal at least 35 percent of the appraised value of the article at the time of entry. General Note 3(c)(ii)(C), HTSUSA. You state that only 20 percent of the appraised value of the covers will be attributable to the GSP country and that the remaining 80 percent will be attributable to the cost of materials imported into the GSP country. Thus it does not appear likely that the covers will qualify for duty-free treatment under the GSP. However, without more information about the processing operation in the GSP country, we cannot issue a definitive ruling to that effect.

Duty-free treatment is not available under the CBERA for various textile articles classified under subheading 6307.90.9030, HTSUSA, including those such as the boat covers, of which it appears that man-made fibers equal or exceed 50 percent by weight of all component fibers. General Note

HOLDING:

The boat covers are classified under subheading 6307.90.9030, HTSUSA, a provision for other made up textile articles.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

Previous Ruling Next Ruling