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NY 808497




April 6, 1995

CLA-2-03:S:N:N7:232 808497

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 0306.23.0020; 0306.29.0000; 0901.11.0010; 0901.11.0090; 1209.99.4075; 2008.99.6500

Mr. Samuel Nji Ngwa
4105 14th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55407

RE: The tariff classification of various food products from Cameroon.

Dear Mr. Ngwa:

In your letter dated March 16, 1995 you requested a tariff classification ruling.

Your query concerns the classification of several food products from Cameroon, West Africa as follows:

1) Coffee beans - these are green dried coffee beans, imported in jute bags weighing 60 kilograms each.

2) Melon seeds (Egusi) - these are harvested from the melon fruit, washed and dried and packed in jute bags of various sizes.

3) Smoked/dried shrimp (crayfish) - caught fresh from the ocean, these are smoked and dried and packed in sealed polyethylene-lined jute bags of various sizes.

4) Garri - this is made from the cassava tuber. The tuber is peeled, ground into a paste and dried. The paste is then baked or fried in palm oil to a very dry level.

5) Palm oil - this is a liquid produced from the ripened palm nut of palm trees. The nuts are cooked and shells removed, leaving the skins which are squeezed under high pressure to remove the red oil. The oil is then cooked to refine it from all impurities and packed into various sized containers. The one liter size is scheduled for importation into the United States.

The applicable subheading for the coffee beans (if Arabica) will be 0901.11.0010, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated...coffee, not roasted...not decaffeinated... Arabica. The duty rate will be free. If the beans are not Arabica, the applicable subheading will be 0901.11.0090, HTS, which provides for coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated...coffee, not roasted...not decaffeinated...other. The duty rate will also be free.

The applicable subheading for the melon seeds will be 1209.99.4075, HTS, which provides for seeds, fruits and spores, of a kind used for sowing...other...other...other...other melon. The rate of duty will be 2.89 cents per kilogram.

The applicable subheading for the smoked/dried shrimp will be 0306.23.0020, HTS, which provides for crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine...not frozen...shrimps and prawns...shell-on. The duty rate will be free. The applicable heading for the smoked/dried crayfish will be 0306.29.0000, HTS, which provides for crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine...not frozen...other, including flours, meals and pellets of crustaceans, fit for human consumption. The duty rate will also be free.

The applicable subheading for the garri will be 2008.99.6500, HTS, which provides for other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved...other...yucca. The rate of duty will be 7.9 percent ad valorem.

Articles classifiable under subheadings 1209.99.4075 and 2208.99.6500, HTS, which are products of Cameroon are entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations.

Your inquiry does not provide enough information for us to give a classification ruling on the palm oil. Your request for a classification ruling should include the genus and species of the palm tree or trees from which the oil is obtained, and whether the oil is derived from the pulp of the fruit or the kernel of the nut.

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

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