HQ 0088276 - Fibro-Schines, Fibro-Pallets, Fibro-Clusters are clusters of bound coconut (coir) fibers. Fibro-mat; fabric; horticulture - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 088276

February 8, 1991

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 088276 HP

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 5305.11.0000

Mr. Sven Hoeger d.b.a. Creative Habitat
P.O. Box 597
Pawling, NY 12564

RE: Fibro-Schines, Fibro-Pallets, Fibro-Clusters are clusters of bound coconut (coir) fibers. Fibro-mat; fabric; horticulture

Dear Mr. Hoeger:

This is in reply to your letter of October 9, 1990, concerning the tariff classification of coconut fiber products, produced in Germany and Sri Lanka, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA).

FACTS:

The merchandise at issue consists of four products produced from coconut fibers, or coir, described by you as follows:

A: FIBRO-SCHINES

1. Description

Fibro-Schines are basic components for specialized biotechnical plantings of herbaceous plant materials on disturbed sites at the interface between water and land, such as shores, stream banks etc....

Fibro-Schines are elongated modules of stuffed coconut fiber, which for matters of transport and cohesion are held together by netting. Their most commonly used diameter is approximately 3O cm and their overall length is approximately 6 meters. We anticipate however, to import sizes ranging in diameter up to 60 cm; lengths can be shorter then 6 meters. The netting is made of plastics and features non slip knots.

2. Use in the US
Fibro-Schines serve as a planting substrate for biotechnical plantings, such as in erosion control projects along stream banks and in tidal areas; they may also be used to create living breakwaters of aquatic vegetation; by themselves Fibro-Schines are little more then stuffed bags of coir; to be effective, they have to be planted with plant materials specifically grown for
this purpose.

Quantities of importation are expected to be relatively small.

3. Designation
No common name known;
Marketed under the trade name Fiber-Schine(s); German: Vegetations-Faschine(n)

4. Material Composition
Coconut fiber 99.9% (by weight, approx.)
Polyethylene (netting) 0.1%

5. Photos attached; there is no illustrative literature available as of yet; items are too voluminous to be shipped as samples.

B: FIBRO-PALLETS:

1. Description

Fibro-Pallets are specialized planting substrates. They are rectangular pillows of coir fibers stuffed loosely into a "pillow case" made of coir twine; the individual strands of the twine can easily be pushed apart to reach into the fiber when planting ( knots are only used to close the "pillow case"); thickness is approximately 10-15 cm; surface area is approximately one square meter.

2. Use in the US

Fibro-Pallets serve to hydroponically grow marsh vegetation in a nursery environment. They stay in the nursery for a minimum of one growing season until the plants and planting substrate form a solid sod. They are then used to reclaim disturbed sites or to establish a new belt of marsh vegetation along lake shores, ponds or in tidal areas. without vegetation these substrates are useless to our bioengineering efforts.
Quantities of importation are expected to be relatively small.
3. Designation
No common name known;
Marketed only as grown sod under the trade name Fiber-Pallet(s);
German: Vegetations-Palette(n)

4. Material Composition
Coconut fiber 100%

5. Photos attached; there is no illustrative literature available as of yet; items are too voluminous to be shipped as samples.

FIBRO-CLUSTERS

1. Description

Fibro-Clusters are specialized planting substrates. They are balls of coir fibers wrapped with thin
polyethylene foil and held together by-a rubber band; overall height approximately 8 inches, diameter approximately 8 inches. Total weight approximately 1 pound.

2. Use in the US

Fibro-Clusters serve to hydroponically grow marsh vegetation in a nursery environment. They stay in the nursery for a minimum of one growing season until the plants and planting substrate form a solid ball. They are then used to reclaim disturbed sites along lake shores, ponds or in tidal areas. Without vegetation these substrates are useless to our bioengineering efforts. Quantities of importation are expected to be relatively small.

3. Designation
No common name known;
Marketed only with vegetation under the trade name Fiber-Cluster(s);
German: Vegetations-Bult(e)

4. Material Composition
Coconut fiber 99.9% (by weight)
Polyethylene foil and rubber band 0.1% (by weight)

5. Photos attached; there is no illustrative literature available as of yet; items are too voluminous to be shipped as samples,

D: FIBRO-MATS:

1. Description
Fibro-Mats are specialized planting substrates. They are thin mats of coir fibers loosely stitched together with jute yarn; a sample is enclosed. Thickness is approximately 2.5 cm;
Length and width vary upon request (frequently 1x5 meters).

2. Use in the US

Fibro-Mats serve to hydroponically grow marsh vegetation in a nursery environment, They stay in the nursery for a minimum of one growing season until the plants and planting substrate form a solid sod. This sod can be rolled up and then used to reclaim disturbed sites or to establish a new belt of wet meadow vegetation along lake shores, ponds or in tidal areas.
Without vegetation these substrates are useless to our bioengineering efforts.
Quantities of importation are expected to be relatively small.

3. Designation
No common name known;
Marketed only as grown sod under the trade name Fiber-Carpet(s);
German: Vegetations-Matte(n)

4. Material Composition
Coconut fiber 100%
Jute yarn: negligible

5. Photos attached; there is no illustrative literature available as of yet; sample section enclosed.

ISSUE:

What is the correct classification of these products under the HTSUSA?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Subheading 9817.00.5000, HTSUSA, provides for machinery, equipment and implements to be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes. U.S. Note 2(e) to subChapter XVII of Chapter 98 states, however, that "[t]he provisions of headings 9817.00.50 and 9817.00.60 do not apply to ... articles of textile materials." As the instant merchandise is of textile materials (see discussion of fibers infra), classification in this subheading is precluded.

Fibro-Schines, Fibro-Pallets & Fibro-Clusters

Heading 6307, HTSUSA, provides for other made up articles of textiles. Note 1 to Chapter 63 states that the subchapter of which heading 6307 is a part "applies only to made up articles, of any textile fabric." It is clear that these samples are not fabric, but are merely fibers stuffed together into twine, netting or foil. Classification in heading 6307 is therefore inappropriate.

Heading 5305, HTSUSA, provides for, inter alia, coconut fibers (coir), raw or processed but not spun. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the HTSUSA constitute the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. While not legally binding, they do represent the considered views of classification experts of the Harmonized System Committee. It has therefore been the practice of the Customs Service to follow, whenever possible, the terms of the Explanatory Notes when interpreting the HTSUSA. The EN to this heading states:

This heading covers vegetable textile fibres obtained from the leaves or fruit of certain monocotyledonous plants....
The vegetable textile fibres classified here include:

Coconut. Coconut fibres (coir) are obtained from the external covering of the nut and are coarse, brittle and brown in colour. They are classified here whether in the mass or in bundles.

It is our opinion that, although these items are in their final form, they are still considered "in bundles" for classification purposes. Heading 5305 is therefore correct.

Fibro-Mats

You have described the mats as "loosely stitched together with jute yarn." Our examination of the sample indicates that the yarns are merely lying on the surface of the coir. In order to classify this merchandise we must know how the stitching process took place; i.e., whether the stitching medium was a pre-existing yarn or were the coir fibers pulled up from the mat during the stitching. This sample is being returned to you. If you wish to send us this information, please reference the above-listed HQ number and re-submit the sample.

HOLDING:

As a result of the foregoing, the Fibro-Schines, Fibro- Pallets & Fibro-Clusters are classified under subheading 5305.11.0000, HTSUSA, as coconut, abaca (Manila hemp or Musa textilis Nee), ramie and other vegetable textile fibers, not elsewhere specified or included, raw or processed but not spun; tow, noils and waste of these fibers (including yarn waste and garnetted stock), of coconut (coir), raw. The applicable rate of duty is Free.

Sincerely,

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