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HQ 087524


October 15, 1990

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087524 CRS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 5805.00.2500

Mr. Gerald Rosengren
President
Pillow Talk
1477 Tulane Road
Claremont, CA 91711

RE: Needlepoint article on mesh fabric ground is classifiable as a tapestry. Used for furnishing purposes.

Dear Mr. Rosengren:

This is in reply to your letter dated June 12, 1990, to the District Director, Los Angeles, concerning the classification of needlepoint articles under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). A sample was attached to your request.

FACTS:

The sample in question is a handmade needlepoint article from Hungary and is made from 88 percent wool (33 oz/yd) and 12 percent cotton canvas (4.5 oz/yd). The sample tapestry measures approximately 23 inches by 23 inches and has a needled-worked floral design on a square meshed canvas. In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 087269 dated August 15, 1990, a similar article was classified in subheading 6307.90.9590, HTSUSA.

ISSUE:

Whether the article in question is classifiable as a needle-worked tapestry or as an other made up article.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Heading 6307, HTSUSA, is a residual heading that provides for other made up articles of textile, i.e., those which are not included more specifically in other headings of Section XI or elsewhere in the nomenclature.

Heading 5805, HTSUSA, provides, inter alia, for needle- worked tapestries (for example, petit point, cross stitch), whether or not made up. The Explanatory Notes (1990), which although not legally binding nevertheless constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level, describe needle-worked tapestries as follows at EN 58.05, 803:

Needle-worked tapestries (also known as point tapestries) are characterized by the fact that they are made with a fabric ground (usually square meshed canvas), on which the desired design is filled in with needle-work using a great many different coloured threads.

Needle-worked tapestries are sometimes over-worked with further stitches but remain in this heading and are not regarded as embroidery.

Contrary to the case of most embroideries of heading 58.10, the ground fabric (usually canvas) is completely covered except perhaps at the edges. The stitches used are differently named according to the way they are executed: petit point, gross point, cross stitch, double cross stitch, Gobelins stitch, etc.

Tapestries are used mainly for furnishing purposes, as wall coverings or for upholstering chairs, etc., and are usually made of silk, wool, man-made fibres or even metallised yarn.

They remain in this heading even if hemmed, bordered, lined, etc., but if made up into articles such as evening handbags, cushions, slippers, etc., they are, of course, excluded.

Needlepoint tapestries are also described in Summary of Trade and Tariff Information, "Bedding, Curtains and Draperies, Tapestries and Miscellaneous Furnishings," ITC Publication 841, Control No. 3-5-15, September 1982:

Needlepoint and petit-point tapestries are decorative embroidery work done by handstitching yarns through a ground of open-weave canvas which resembles coarse window screening...Needlepoint is usually done on a mono- or single-thread canvas with 10, 12, 14, 16, or 18 meshes per inch, and petit point is done on a much finer penelope or double-threaded canvas.

The article in question is stitched on a square-meshed canvas with 10 meshes per inch. Needlework covers the entire ground fabric except for a two inch border at the edges while a floral design covers the central portion of the tapestry. The sample is hemmed on two sides and is used in the manufacture of pillows, i.e, for furnishing purposes.

In HRL 087269 a similar article was described as unfinished in view of the fact that it was to be framed subsequent to importation. However, Customs' no longer adheres to this view but instead, considers the sample tapestry, as well as that which was the subject of HRL 087269, to be a finished article. Heading 5805 contemplates that needlepoint tapestries may "technically" be unfinished to the degree that in their condition as imported they undergo further processing, e.g., framing, conversion into pillows; indeed, this much is indicated by the use of the phrase "whether or not made up" in the terms of the heading. In this regard we refer again to the language of the Explanatory Notes at 803, that "tapestries are used mainly for furnishing purposes...for upholstering chairs, etc.," which suggests that needle-worked articles of heading 5805 are perhaps analogous to parts in that they are incorporated into other articles. As a result it is Customs' opinion that the tapestries fall within the terms of heading 5805 rather than in heading 6307.

HOLDING:

The needle-worked article in question is classifiable in subheading 5805.00.2500, HTSUSA, under the provision for hand- woven tapestries...and needle-worked tapestries..., other, of wool or fine animal hair, other, and is dutiable at the rate of 3.5 percent ad valorem. The textile category is 414.

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.

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 importation of this merchandise to determine the current status of any import restraints or requirements.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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