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NY 877399




September 10, 1992

CLA-2-40:S:N:N3D:221 877399

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4016.10.0000

Mr. Scott McDermid
Rocky Mountain Investment Group Ltd.
2665 126 Street
Surrey, B.C., Canada V4A 3R2

RE: The tariff classification of a rubber mouse pad from Canada.

Dear Mr. McDermid:

In your letter dated August 8, 1992, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

The sample submitted with your letter is a desk top mouse pad. It measures approximately 8 inches square, and has rounded edges. It is made from cellular rubber which has been backed on one side with a uniformly dyed plain knit fabric. The rubber/fabric combination weighs over 1500 grams per square meter. Such a construction is considered to be rubber for tariff purposes. The New York Customs Laboratory has identified the rubber as a combination of natural and synthetic rubbers.

The applicable subheading for the mouse pad will be 4016.10.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other articles of vulcanized rubber other than hard rubber, of cellular rubber. The rate of duty will be 4.2 percent ad valorem.

Goods classifiable under subheading 4016.10.0000, HTS, which have originated in the territory of Canada, will be entitled to a 2.5 percent ad valorem rate of duty under the United States- Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) upon compliance with all applicable regulations.

You indicate that the rubber material may be made in the United States and shipped to Canada either as sheets or as cut pads. If the pads are made in the United States, and shipped to Canada in their finished form merely for individual packaging, the pads are considered to be a product of the United States and may be marked as such.

Subheading 9801.00.10, HTS, provides for the free entry of United States products that are exported and returned without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any means while abroad, provided the documentary requirements of section 10.1, Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 10.1), are met. The mere repackaging of the pads for the purpose of resale to the ultimate consumer does not preclude the merchandise from being classified in subheading 9801.00.10, HTS.

The value of a non-reusable container normally used for packing such goods is considered to be a part of the value of its contents and is dutiable at the rate of its contents. Since the packaging bag and header are of the kind normally used for packaging such a product, and the packaging materials are not suitable for reuse, the value of the packaging is considered to be a part of the value of the contents and, in this case, would be subject to the same free rate as the mouse pad.

If the rubber material is made in the United States and shipped as sheet which will be cut to rounded squares in Canada, or shipped as squares whose corners will be rounded in Canada, the product is no longer considered to be a product of the United States and may not be marked as such. In this case, the dutiable value of the merchandise includes the cost of the rubber material, the cost of transporting the material to Canada, and all the labor and packaging costs incurred in Canada.

You inquire whether the header must be marked to indicate that it is printed in Canada. Usual disposable containers in use as such at the time of importation are not required to be marked to show the country of their own origin, but must be marked to indicate the origin of their contents.

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

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director

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