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 > 1991 NY Rulings > NY 0856334 - NY 0856889 > NY 0856337

Previous Ruling Next Ruling


NY 856337

Oct 10, 1990

CLA-2-64:S:N:N3D:347 T 856337

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6402.91.50; 6403.99.40; 6404.19.35

Mr. William J. LeClair
Trans-Border Customs Service, Inc.
One Trans-Border Drive
P.O. Box 800
Champlain, N.Y. 12919

RE: The tariff classification of women's footwear from Italy, China, Spain and Taiwan.

Dear Mr. LeClair:

In your letter dated September 14, 1990, on behalf of Les Importations Cavini, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

You have submitted five different samples of women's footwear described as follows:

Style 1000 - A woman's cold weather boot approximately 11 1/2 inches in height. It has a functionally stitched, predominately plastic upper, a 2 1/2 inch wide suede leather cuff, a textile fleece liner and a cemented-on, wedge shaped plastic/rubber bottom that overlaps the upper by less 1/4 inch. From our visual examination, we have determined that the leather cuff accounts for more than 10 percent of the upper's external surface. The boot will be made in Italy.

Style FF999 - A woman's open-toe/slip-on casual shoe with an all textile upper, a wedge shaped plastic platform bottom and a cemented-on, flat rubber outsole. The shoe will be made in China.

Style 2821 - A woman's fashion pump with a 1 1/2 inch high plastic heel, an all textile upper and a cemented-on rubber/plastic outer sole. Although you state that the shoe you intend to import will have a leather (not a rubber/plastic) outersole, we are precluded from arriving at a classification for that shoe without an accurate component material weight breakdown also necessary for our analysis. We are therefore, only able to classify the sample shoe that has been submitted with a rubber/plastic sole in this ruling request. The shoe will be made in Taiwan.

Style 2963 - A woman's casual slip-on shoe with a suede leather upper that has a wide band of textile trimming stitched-on across the instep and a cemented-on plastic/rubber outer sole. The sole will be made in Spain.

Style 1818 - A woman's open-toe, open heel, sandal style shoe that has an upper consisting of leather ankle/heel straps with a side buckle closure and a two inch wide leather strap crossing the instep. The shoe also has a wedge shaped, molded rubber/plastic bottom. For the purpose of this ruling, we will assume that if the external surface of the leather upper is coated with plastics, the thickness of the coating does not exceed 0.15 millimeters. This shoe will be made in Italy.

The applicable subheading for the cold weather boot, style 1000, will be 6402.91.50, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for footwear, in which the upper's external surface is predominately rubber and/or plastics; in which the outer sole's external surface is predominately rubber and/or plastics; which is other than "sports footwear"; in which there is no protective metal toe-cap; in which the top of the upper covers the wearer's ankle bone; in which the upper's external surface is 90% or less rubber and/or plastics after every accessory and reinforcement present is included as part of it; and which is designed to be a protection against water, oil, or cold or inclement weather. The rate of duty will be 37.5 percent ad valorem.

The applicable subheading for the two shoes with textile uppers, style FF999 and style 2821, will be 6404.19.35, HTS, which provides for footwear, in which the upper's external surface is predominately textile; in which the outer sole's external surface is predominately rubber and/or plastics; which is other than athletic footwear; which is not designed to be a protection against water, oil, or cold or inclement weather; which has open toes or open heels, or is of the slip-on type; which does not have a foxing-like band; and which is 10% or more by weight of rubber and/or plastics. The rate of duty will be 37.5 percent ad valorem.

The applicable subheading for the shoes, style 2963 and style 1818, will be 6403.99.90, HTS, which provides for footwear, in which the upper's external surface is predominately leather (note that an accessory or reinforcement stitched on top of another material is not part of the upper's external surface but the material hidden underneath is); in which the outer sole's external surface is predominately rubber or plastics; which is other than "sports footwear"; in which the top of the upper is below the top of the ankle bone; in which the sole is attached to the upper by a means other than welt stitched construction; which is worn by women; and which is valued over $2.50 per pair. The rate of duty will be 10 percent ad valorem.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director

Previous Ruling Next Ruling

See also: