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HQ 087755


December 4, 1990

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087755 KWM

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF: 4202.22.1500

Mr. David Blain
Tom Fields, Ltd.
122 Union Street
Northvale, N.J. 07647

RE: Heart shaped children's handbag; plastic coated textile; textile; plastics; wholly or mainly of; Outer surface.

Dear Mr. Blain:

This will acknowledge receipt of your request for a binding classification ruling for heart shaped children's handbags. Your correspondence and a sample of the goods have been forwarded to this office for a ruling.

FACTS:

The goods at issue here are heart shaped handbags for children. They measure approximately 6 inches in diameter and have a strap for carrying over the shoulder. The bag is composed mainly of a nylon tricot fabric laminated with polyester film. The polyester film is transparent and has an iridescent look. The bag is lined with a thin plastic sheet. Sandwiched between the inner and outer layers is a layer of open cell foam. The front of the bag is covered with an additional outer layer of clear plastic sheeting. The bag is trimmed with a textile material. The entire bag is pink.

ISSUE:

How are the goods classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). The systematic detail of the harmonized system is such that virtually all goods are classified by application of GRI 1, that is, according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relevant Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI's may be applied, taken in order.

The terms of heading 4202, HTSUSA, provide for, in pertinent part:

. . . knapsacks and backpacks, handbags, shopping bags, wallets, purses, . . . of plastic sheeting, of textile materials, of vulcanized fiber or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials:

(emphasis added). Those terms include handbags such as these, provided that the articles are "of" or "wholly or mainly covered" with one of the enumerated materials. We believe that they are. Both the inner liner and the clear plastic layer on the front of the bag are plastic sheeting. The polyester laminated nylon, which comprises the bulk of the bag, is a composite material, and is considered a textile material (of heading 5903, HTSUSA) for classification purposes. That determination is based on Legal Note 1(h) to Section XI, HTSUSA, and Legal Note 2 to Chapter 59, HTSUSA, which govern classification of plastic and textile combinations.

Within heading 4202, HTSUSA, goods are classified by the material which comprises their "outer surface." The front of the bag clearly has an outer surface of plastic sheeting (the clear plastic sheet). The remainder of the bag also has an outer surface of plastic sheeting by virtue of Additional U.S. Note (2) to Chapter 42, HTSUSA, which provides:

For the purposes of . . . 4202.22 [handbags], articles of textile fabric impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics (whether compact or cellular) shall be regarded as having an outer surface of textile material or of plastic sheeting, depending upon whether and the extent to which the textile constituent or the plastic constituent makes up the exterior surface of the article.

In other words, the composite material here is considered to be textile for the purposes of the four-digit heading 4202, HTSUSA, but has an outer surface of plastic sheeting since the plastic constituent makes up the exterior surface of the article. Therefore, the outer surface is the clear plastic sheet (on the front), and the plastic sheeting component of the textile and plastic composite material (elsewhere).

HOLDING:

The sample submitted, a heart shaped handbag for children, composed of and mainly covered with plastic sheeting is classified in subheading 4202.22.1500, HTSUSA, as a handbag, with or without a shoulder strap, with an outer surface of plastic sheeting. The goods are dutiable at the rate of 20 percent ad valorem. There is no textile visa category associated with this classification.

Sincerely,

John A. Durant
Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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