HQ 0087342 - Men's Shirts and Jeans - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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 0087299 - HQ 0087421 > HQ 0087342

HQ 087342
September 7, 1990

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087342 JS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

Mr. Lester Cheng
6915 Croyden Circle
Wichita, Kansas 67226

RE: Men's Shirts and Jeans

Dear Mr. Cheng:

This is in reference to your letter of May 20, 1990, requesting classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated ("HTSUSA") of men's shirts and jeans to be imported from China.

A sample of the merchandise to be imported was not submitted for our inspection. Due to the absence of a sample and the insufficient information provided in your request, we are unable to issue you a binding ruling. The following reply may therefore be used for informational purposes only.

Two magazine pictures of the merchandise at issue were included with the information in your letter.

You state that the men's shirts will be made of either 65% polyester/35% cotton fabric or 55% polyester/45% cotton fabric. The submitted picture depicts short-sleeved shirts which have collars and button down front openings; these particular shirts are of a multicolored plaid design. However, you state that the shirts will also be imported in solids, stripes and prints. In a telephone conversation with our office on August 29, 1990, you also indicated that the shirts are woven and not knit.

The men's jeans are made of 100% cotton fabric which appears to be denim. The picture provided shows a pair of men's pants which have all the traditional features of "jeans." They are blue, with front slit pockets and back patch pockets; they have visible seam stitching and a yellow trade tag sewn into one of the back seams.

SHIRTS

Heading 6205, HTSUSA, provides for men's or boy's shirts. The Explanatory Notes ("EN"), the official interpretation of the Tariff at the international level, state that the heading covers shirts with detachable collars, dress shirts, sports shirts and leisure shirts. As an aid in determining the applicability of this heading to the subject goods, The Textile and Apparel Category Guidelines CIE 13/88 (November 23, 1988) provides the following description:

[Men's shirts, not knit]...cover male garments which extend from the neck and shoulder areas to or below the waist. A shirt should have a full or partial front opening, which closes left side over right side... [S]hirts must have sleeves.

At the present time, distinctions made between types of collars, the presence of shirttails, or color pattern are helpful, but not definitive, in characterizing shirts as dress, sport or work garments.

The shirts presented for importation appear to fit the criteria above; furthermore, the brightly colored plaids and short sleeves of the pictured shirts suggest that they are designed as sport shirts. However, variations in the design of the shirt, i.e. solid-colored shirts, or shirts that are printed with different colors rather than woven with different colored threads, will be classified under a different subheading.

PANTS

Heading 6203, HTSUSA, provides for, inter alia, men's trousers. EN 62.03, which applies the provisions of EN 61.03, mutatis mutandis, to the articles of this heading, states that "trousers" means garments which envelope each leg separately, covering the knees and usually reaching down to or below the ankles. In order to be classified as jeans, however, the pants must comply with the requirements of "blue denim" as defined in Chapter 55, HTSUSA, Statistical Note 1(h), which states that

"blue denim" means fabric weighing more than 170 grams per square meter, of 3-thread or 4-thread twill, including broken twill, warp faced, the warp yarns of which are dyed blue and the weft yarns of which are unbleached, bleached, dyed grey or colored a lighter shade of blue than that of the warp yarns.

If you wish to resubmit your request, please include samples and a detailed description of the goods. This will allow us to make a proper determination of the HTSUSA classification binding on all U.S. Customs ports and points of entry.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Operations Division

Previous Ruling Next Ruling