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HQ 085106


September 22, 1989

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 085106 DFC

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6404.19.3560

Ms. Elza Mitelman
Inter-Maritime Fwdg. Co. Inc.
156 William Street
New York, N.Y. 10038

RE: A beaded shoe produced in China

Dear Ms. Mitelman:

Your letter dated June 13, 1989, addressed to our New York office concerning the tariff classification of a beaded shoe, has been referred to this office for a direct reply to you. A sample was submitted for examination.

FACTS:

The sample designated as style No.89-9223 is a women's slip-on shoe. It has a rubber and/or plastic high heel bottom (which is presumed to make up more than 10 percent of the weight of the shoe), and a textile upper which is covered with glass beads of several different colors.

ISSUE:

Do the glass beads which are sewn in patterns on the external surface of the upper constitute the external surface area of the upper?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Legal Note 4(a), Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), reads as follows:

Subject to note 3 to this chapter:

(a) The material of the upper shall be taken to be the constituent material having the greatest external surface area, no account being taken of accessories or reinforcements such as ankle patches, edging, ornamentation, buckles, tabs, eyelet stays or similar attachments;

An examination of the sample reveals that the beads are laid out in specific designs. The underlying textile material can be clearly seen and it is apparent that the manufacturer's intention was to enhance the textile upper with the glass beads and not to obscure it. It is our opinion that the beads are ornamentation on a textile upper and should not be considered as external surface area of the upper.

HOLDING:

The sample shoe is classifiable under subheading 6404.19.3560, HTSUSA, as footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textile materials, other, footwear of the slip-on type, that is held to the foot without the use of laces or buckles or other fasteners, other. The applicable rate of duty for this provision is 37.5 percent ad valorem.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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