HQ 0089964 - Band, foxing-like; Footwear, unit-molded; simultaneous, direct molded bottoms: T.D. 83-116, 080760 - 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 > 1992 HQ Rulings > HQ 0089935 - HQ 0110265 > HQ 0089964

HQ 089964
December 6, 1991
CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 089964

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: N.A.

Peter T. Mangione, President
Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America 1319 F Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004

RE: Band, foxing-like; Footwear, unit-molded; simultaneous, direct molded bottoms: T.D. 83-116, 080760

Dear Mr. Mangione:

This is in reference to your letter dated July 9, 1991, your meeting of September 25, 1991, with members of your association and my staff, and our meeting on October 30, 1991, at which we discussed the Customs Service interpretation of the term "unit- molded footwear" as it appears in T.D. 83-116. Specifically, you request that the term "unit-molded", as used in the seventh guideline of that document, be interpreted to cover simultaneous or direct molded bottoms.

FACTS:

The seventh characteristic of a foxing-like band as it appears in T.D. 83-116 reads as follows:

7. Unit molded footwear is considered to have a foxing- like band if a vertical overlap of 1/4 inch or more exists from where the upper and the outsole initially meet, measured on a vertical plane. If this vertical overlap is less than 1/4 inch, such footwear is presumed not to have a foxing-like band. (17 Cust. Bull. at 248)

ISSUE:

Should the term "unit molded footwear", as used in T.D. 83- 116, include footwear with direct or simultaneous molded bottoms?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

After careful consideration of numerous comments submitted by footwear importers and the domestic shoe industry, by a document published as T.D. 83-116 in the Federal Register of May 23, 1983 [48 FR 22904, 17 Cust. Bull. 229 (1983)], the Customs

Service set forth:

(1) Customs position regarding the proper interpretation of provisions in the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) pertaining to imported footwear having foxing or a foxing-like band applied or molded at the sole and overlapping the upper, and (2) guidelines relating to the characteristics of foxing and foxing-like band.

Even though the TSUS was superseded by the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUS), effective January 1, 1989, the guidelines of T.D. 83-116 are still followed by Customs with regard to the classification of footwear.

In T.D. 83-116 the position of the domestic shoe industry with respect to unit molded construction reads in pertinent part as follows:

The use of unit molded bottoming materials (i.e., plastic or rubber bottoms in which the heel and sole are molded as a single unit) has grown in importance in recent years in connection with the production of both leather and non- leather footwear, especially so-called "casuals."

Unit molding encompasses two distinct manufacturing processes. In pre-molded construction, a pre-formed molded unit sole is separately attached to the upper after lasting. In direct molding, the molded sole is, at the time of its formation, molded directly to the assembled and lasted upper in a single step. When the soling compound is introduced into the mold in liquid form, the process is often called "direct injection molding." In both, there is by design a foxing or a foxing-like band . . . molded at the sole and overlapping the upper." (17 Cust. Bull. at 231)

In describing the position of footwear importers, T.D. 83- 116 makes reference to various types of unit-molded footwear.

For example, foxing-like bands may be found on many sneakers with rubber or plastic uppers including shell molded and injected molded varieties. (17 Cust. Bull. at 239)

Finally, in discussing the position of the Customs Service, T.D. 83-116 refers to two different types of unit-molded bottoms, injection molded and shell molded bottoms.

For example, certain injection molded sneakers have foxing- like bands. Upon completion, there exists a strip which covers what appears to be (but is not in fact) the joint between the upper and the sole.

A sneaker with a shell bottom construction also has a foxing-like band. In that construction the sole is made or molded in one process and, rather than being merely the bottom or outsole portion, the molding process results in a cup-like unit (the sole) into which the upper is glued and sometimes sewn. The molded shell when affixed to the upper resembles in appearance and position a separately applied functional foxing. (17 Cust. Bull. at 244)

As you stated in your letter and at the meetings, the 1/4 inch rule promulgated in the seventh guideline in T.D. 83-116 was applied to pre-formed bottoms but was never applied to direct or simultaneous molded bottoms. The rationale for this position was set out in Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 080760 dated February 8, 1988, which reads in pertinent part as follows:

As to whether the shoe has a foxing-like band, the 1/4 inch rule set out in T.D. 83-116 applies only to unit molded soles. The reason for the 1/4 inch rule was that it was not possible to produce an overlap of less than 1/4 inch that would be foxing-like in appearance and functional using that particular method of construction, which was, in 1983, the method of construction, usually found in the shoes in issue. In a simultaneous injection construction the different method of construction makes it possible to have a much more foxing-like effect for a given amount of overlap . . . The result of the overlap is thus a shoe which we believe the average consumer could not distinguish from an otherwise identical shoe with a traditional, separate, vulcanized rubber foxing tape and a shoe which we believe is as resistant to the separation of the sole from the upper as one with traditional foxing. In our opinion this is exactly what "foxing-like" was intended to cover.

After a thorough review of the language used in T.D. 83-116 to describe unit molded constructions, we have concluded that while the examples used refer to the construction of sneakers rather than ladies casuals, the principles are the same. Footwear with pre-formed bottoms and footwear with direct or simultaneous molded bottoms are both included within the scope of the term "unit molded footwear" as used in the seventh guideline for foxing-like bands. The language used in T.D. 83-116 was clear as to the scope of the term "unit molded" bottoms and was never qualified in any manner. For this reason, the exclusion of footwear with direct or simultaneous molded bottoms from application of the 1/4 inch rule is not warranted.

Accordingly, HRL 080760 is modified by this ruling. Future rulings issued on footwear with foxing-like bands will reflect this change in interpretation.

HOLDING:

The term "unit molded footwear" as used in T.D. 83-116 includes footwear with direct or simultaneous molded bottoms.

Footwear with direct or simultaneous molded bottoms like footwear with pre-formed unit bottoms are presumed not to possess foxing-like bands when the vertical overlap of the upper by the sole is less than 1/4 inch.

Sincerely,

Harvey B. Fox, Director
Office of Regulations and Rulings

Previous Ruling Next Ruling