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HQ 085543


December 11, 1989

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 085543 CC

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6210.50.1020; 6203.43.1500, 6203.43.2005

Mr. Bernard Jacobs
Weather Tamer, Inc.
112 West 34th Street
Suite 1407
New York, N.Y. 10120

RE: Classification of a girls' jacket and boys' overalls

Dear Mr. Jacobs:

This letter is in response to your inquiry of August 15, 1989, requesting tariff classification of a girls' jacket and boys' overalls from Korea. Samples were submitted for examination.

FACTS:

The boys' garment, designated as style 2314, is bib and brace overalls, which have a woven nylon shell coated with a 600mm layer of acrylic plastics. This garment has slant pockets at the waist, a nylon lining, a front zipper opening, and hidden storm cuffs. Also, it contains an insulating filling of nonwoven man-made fiber.

The girls' garment, designated as style 3315, is a waist-length jacket with a woven outershell composed of 65 percent polyester and 35 percent cotton, which has been coated on its inner surface with a 600mm layer of acrylic plastics. It has a full-front opening with a zipper, a storm flap, pockets with snapped flaps at the waist, rib knit cuffs, a mostly rib knit waistband, and a woven nylon lining. The jacket is insulated with a nonwoven man-made fiber batting.

ISSUE:

Whether the sample garments are classifiable in Heading 6210 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA)?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.

Heading 6210, HTSUSA, provides for garments made up of fabrics of Heading 5602, 5603, 5903, 5906, or 5907. Chapter 59, HTSUSA, provides for impregnated, coated, covered, or laminated textile fabrics. Note 2 to Chapter 59 states that Heading 5903, HTSUSA, applies to the following fabrics:

(a) Textile fabrics, impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics, whatever the weight per square meter and whatever the nature of the plastic material (compact or cellular), other than:

(1) Fabrics in which the impregnation, coating or covering cannot be seen with the naked eye (usually chapters 50 to 55, 58 or 60); for the purpose of this provision, no account should be taken of any resulting change of color.

It is our view that the wording of Note 2(a)(1), "visible to the naked eye," is a clear expression by the drafters of the Harmonized System that a significant, if not substantial, amount of material must be added to a fabric for it to be considered "impregnated, coated, or covered." The plastics material added to the fabric must be visibly distinguishable from that fabric without the use of magnification.

Applying the statutory test to the sample girls' jacket, using normally corrected vision in a well-lighted room, the girls' jacket at issue has a plastics application which is visibly distinguishable from that fabric. Therefore, the fabric is considered coated within the meaning of Heading 5903, making the girls' jacket at issue classifiable in Heading 6210, HTSUSA. Note 5 to Chapter 62 states that garments which are, prima facie, classifiable both in Heading 6210 and in other headings of this chapter, excluding Heading 6209, are to be classified in Heading 6210. Thus, the girls' jacket would be classified in Heading 6210.

By applying the test of Note 2(a) to Chapter 59, under the same conditions as was done for the girls' jacket, we do not believe that the boys' overalls are impregnated, coated, or covered with plastics. The only change visible in the coated fabric is a change in color, which we are directed to disregard; the coating does not visibly change the surface character of the fabric. In addition, although this garment, as well as the girls' jacket, contains a nonwoven lining, neither is made up of fabrics of Headings 5602 or 5603. The Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at the international level, state that for Chapter 62:

The classification of goods in this Chapter is not affected by the presence of parts or accessories of, for example, knitted or crocheted fabrics, furskin, feather, leather, plastics or metal. Where, however, the presence of such materials constitutes more than mere trimming the articles are classified in accordance with the relative Chapter Notes (particularly Note 4 to Chapter 43 and Note 2(b) to Chapter 67, relating to the presence of furskin and feathers, respectively), or failing that, according to the General Interpretive Rules.

Since normal linings fall within the category of "mere trimming," and the nonwoven insulating linings in the sample garments are no heavier than those normally found in such articles, they do not affect the classification of these garments.

HOLDING:

The girls' jacket is classified under subheading 6210.50.1020, HTSUSA, which provides for garments made up of fabrics of heading 5602, 5603, 5903, 5906, or 5907, other women's or girls' garments, of man-made fibers, other, anoraks (including ski-jackets), windbreakers and similar articles. The rate of duty would be 7.6 percent ad valorem and the textile category would be 635.

If the boys' overalls meet the test for water resistance in Additional U.S. Note 2 of Chapter 62, HTSUSA, they are classified under subheading 6203.43.1500, HTSUSA, which provides for men's or boys' trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches, and shorts, of synthetic fibers, other, bib and brace overalls, water resistant. The rate of duty would be 7.6 percent ad valorem and the textile category would be 659.

If the boys' overalls do not meet the test for water resistance in Additional U.S. Note 2 of Chapter 62, HTSUSA, they are classified under subheading 6203.43.2005, HTSUSA, which provides for men's or boys' trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches, and shorts, of synthetic fibers, other, bib and brace overalls, other, insulated for cold weather protection. The rate of duty would be 17 percent ad valorem and the textile category would be 659.

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

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 internal issuance of the U.S. Customs Service, which is available for inspection at your local Customs office.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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