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HQ 084940


September 27, 1989

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 084940 HP

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 5703.10.0000

Ms. Lena Rainbow
Customs Department
Associated Merchandising Corporation
50 Terminal Road
Secaucus, NJ 07096

RE: Classification of wool carpet

Dear Ms. Rainbow:

This is in reply to your letter of May 23, 1989, concerning the tariff classification of wool carpet, produced in India, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States Annotated (HTSUSA).

FACTS:

The merchandise at issue consists of a 100 percent woven wool rug. Construction is of a 60 count woolen yarn with a four ply. The wool is issued on a loom, with a weight of 3 kilograms per square meter. The net wool weight in the rug is 2.8 kilograms, and the pile height is 4.5 to 5. 8

The design of the rug is sketched on a thick coarse fabric. The fabric is fixed by nails to a wood frame. The weaver then puts the tufts, one by one in the required color, with a small hand operated tool called a hand tufting gun. After the carpet is completely woven, the carpet is taken off the loom. The back of the carpet has a rubberized chemical solution applied to it by hand, so the woollen tufts are stuck to the fabric. After another layer of fabric is fixed on the back of the rug to obscure the rubberized solution, the pile is then completely hand sheared/ embossed by scissor.

You state the carpet is not a certified handloom or folklore product, and that it is hand-hooked, not hand-knotted.

In further submissions, you have advised us that the hand tufting gun is completely hand-operated; no electricity or separate mechanical device is required. You have sent us a sample of the gun for our examination.

ISSUE:

Whether the carpet is hand-made or machine-made for classification purposes under
HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Heading 5703, HTSUSA, provides for carpets and other textile floor coverings, tufted, whether or not made up. The Explanatory Notes to the HTSUSA constitute the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. The Explanatory Note to this heading states:

[t]his heading covers tufted carpets and other tufted textile floor coverings produced on tufting machines which, by means of a system of needles and hooks, insert textile yarn into a pre- existing backing (usually a woven fabric or a nonwoven) thus producing loops, or, if the needles and hooks are combined with a cutting device, tufts . The yarns forming the pile are then normally fixed by a coating of rubber or plastics.
Usually before the coating is allowed to dry it is either covered by a secondary backing of loosely woven textile material , e.g., jute, or by foamed rubber.

The instant merchandise is clearly covered by the aforementioned heading. Therefore, it is considered a tufted floor covering.

HOLDING:

As a result of the foregoing, the instant merchandise is classified under subheading
5703.10.0000, HTSUSA, textile category 465, as carpets and other textile floor coverings, tufted, whether or not made up, of wool or fine animal hair. The applicable rate of duty is 7 percent ad valorem.

The designated textile and apparel category may be subdivided into parts. If so, visa and quota requirements applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected. Since part categories are the result of international bilateral agreements which are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes, to obtain the most current information available, we suggest that you check, close to the time of shipment, the Status Report On Current
Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an issuance of the U.S. Customs Service, which is updated weekly and is available at your local Customs office.

Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation ( the ninth and tenth digits of the classification) and the restraint (quota/visa) categories, you should contact your local Customs office prior to importing the merchandise to determine the current applicability of any import restraints or requirements.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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