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HQ 087771


November 15, 1990

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087771 CC

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6304.99.6030

Mr. Christopher Lange
Director
C.G. Trading Company
Three Cedar Pond Drive, Suite One
Warwick, RI 02886

RE: Classification of a hand embroidered article; not classifiable as art work in Chapter 97; classifiable as an other made up textile article in Chapter 63

Dear Mr. Lange:

This letter is in response to your inquiry of July 12, 1990, requesting tariff classification of a hand embroidered article from China. A sample was submitted for examination.

FACTS:

You state that the articles the sample represents are known as "Double Sided Embroidery" or "Suzhou Embroidery." The submitted sample is designated as "Kitten Teasing a Mantis." The silk gauze has been embroidered with silk yarns to represent a kitten and a mantis. The embroidery represents a different colored kitten on each side of the gauze. The gauze is placed in a wood frame with glass. Attached to the frame is a metal peg, which fits into a hole in a decoratively carved wood base.

You state that these articles are produced by various artisans working in the Suzhou area of the People's Republic of China, under the direction of masters who are regarded as national treasures by their government. The skills required for this art form are passed on by apprenticeship under a master and can require over ten years of work.

ISSUE:

Whether the submitted hand embroidered article is classifiable in Chapter 97 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) or in Chapter 63, 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.

Chapter 97, HTSUSA, provides for works of art. In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 084244, dated July 14, 1989, we ruled that embroidered pictures were not provided for in Chapter 97. The merchandise at issue is essentially an embroidered picture and is not classifiable in Chapter 97.

The submitted merchandise is made of wood, glass, and embroidered fabric, which makes it a composite article. Since framed embroidery is not specifically provided for under the tariff schedule, the component materials of which it is constructed are classifiable under several headings. GRI 3(b) provides that mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character. The wood and glass serve to display the embroidered fabric, which primarily gives this article its decoration. Clearly the embroidered fabric imparts the essential character to this merchandise. Therefore this merchandise is classified as if it consisted only of the embroidered fabric.

Chapter 63, HTSUSA, provides for other made up textile articles, and Heading 6304 provides for other furnishing articles. According to the Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at the international level, Heading 6304 covers furnishing articles of textile materials, other than those of the preceding headings or of Heading 9404, for use in the home, etc. In addition, Heading 6304 includes wall hangings, among other articles.

Although this article does not hang on a wall, it provides a decorative effect similar to that of a wall hanging. We believe that the submitted merchandise is the class or kind of article classifiable as an other furnishing article; therefore, it is classifiable in Heading 6304, HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

The submitted merchandise is classified under subheading 6304.99.6030, HTSUSA, which provides for other furnishing articles, excluding those of Heading 9404, other, not knitted or crocheted, of other textile materials, other, other, other, containing 85 percent or more by weight of silk or silk waste. The rate of duty is 6.4 percent ad valorem. No textile category is currently assigned to articles classifiable under this subheading.

The submitted merchandise and the book Treasures of Suzhou Embroidery are being returned to you under separate cover.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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