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 > 1997 HQ Rulings > HQ 959575 - HQ 959703 > HQ 959594

Previous Ruling Next Ruling
HQ 959594




February 25, 1997

CLA-2 RR:TC:TE 959594 GGD

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6401.92.90

Ms. Linda Cooper
Cooper Imports, Inc.
Post Office Box 888
Tonawanda, New York 14150-0888

RE: Reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) 856343; Child's Rainboot Supported or Lined with Textile Material

Dear Ms. Cooper:

This letter is in response to your request of May 30, 1996, for reconsideration of NY 856343, issued October 16, 1990, which pertains to the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), of a child's rainboot imported from Turkey (although currently the article is a product of the United Kingdom). A sample was submitted with your request.

FACTS:

In NY 856343, the boot was classified in subheading 6401.92.90, HTSUSA, the provision for "Waterproof footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics, the uppers of which are neither fixed to the sole nor assembled by stitching, riveting, nailing, screwing, plugging or similar processes: Other footwear: Covering the ankle but not covering the knee: Other: Other," with an applicable duty rate of 37.5 percent ad valorem.

The sample is a child's one piece boot that measures approximately seven inches in height and is composed almost entirely of molded polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The inside of the boot, however, is supported or lined with a thin layer of woven -2-
nylon textile material that the importer refers to as a "mold release agent," without which, it is said, the boot would not release from the mold used in manufacturing.

ISSUE:

Whether the child's rainboot is classified in subheading 6401.92.90, HTSUSA, or in subheading 6401.92.60, HTSUSA, the provision for "Waterproof footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics, the uppers of which are neither fixed to the sole nor assembled by stitching, riveting, nailing, screwing, plugging or similar processes: Other footwear: Covering the ankle but not covering the knee: Other: Having soles and uppers of which over 90 percent of the external surface area (including any accessories or reinforcements such as those mentioned in note 4(a) to this chapter) is polyvinyl chloride, whether or not supported or lined with polyvinyl chloride but not otherwise supported or lined." (Emphasis added)

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative 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 may then be applied. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level, facilitate classification under the HTSUS by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and GRI.

Heading 6401, HTSUS, covers a variety of waterproof footwear. Since the child's rainboot does not incorporate a protective metal toe-cap, and since the boot covers the ankle but not the knee, the applicable six digit subheading is 6401.92, HTSUS. The determination of the correct eight digit subheading in which the merchandise will be classified, hinges upon whether the item is supported or lined with a material or substance other than PVC.

You assert that the rainboot has no support or lining other than PVC, and contend that what remains inside the PVC shell after completion of the thermoplastic injection molding process is not a lining but the "mold release agent," an integral part of the process without which the boot would stick to the mold. You -3-
further maintain that note 3(a) to chapter 64, HTSUS, is applicable to the classification of the rainboot. The note states:

For purposes of this chapter:

The terms "rubber" and "plastics" include woven fabrics or other textile products with an external layer of rubber or plastics being visible to the naked eye....

You assert that the legal note operates to allow (but ignore for classification purposes) the presence of nylon woven textile material in the PVC boot because the term "plastics," and therefore, PVC plastics, includes woven fabric or other textile products with an external layer of plastics. The rainboot at issue, however, being almost entirely a product of PVC plastics, is not accurately described as a woven fabric/textile product with a merely visible surface layer of plastics. We thus find that note 3(a) to chapter 64, HTSUS, is inapplicable to the boot's classification.

Although the thin layer of woven nylon textile material inside the boot provides little in the way of comfort, warmth, protection, sweat absorption, etc., these attributes are not required in order for a material to meet the definitions of "lining." Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language (1972), defines "lining" as "1. the act or process of covering the inner surface of something 2. the material used or suitable for this purpose."

The EN to heading 6401 also contemplate the use of textile material which later forms the lining of footwear manufactured by press molding and injection molding processes. The EN state that the heading covers, inter alia, footwear obtained by any of the processes described below:

(1) Press moulding
In this process, a core, sometimes covered by a textile "sock" which later forms the lining of the article [emphasis added], is placed in a mould with either preforms or granules.
The mould is closed and placed between the platens of a press, which are heated to a high temperature. Under the influence of the heat, the preforms or granules acquire a certain degree of viscosity and completely fill the space between the core and the walls of -4-
the mould; the excess material escapes through vents. The material then vulcanises (rubber) or gels (polyvinyl chloride).
When the moulding process is complete, the shoe is taken out of the mould and the core is removed.

(2) Injection moulding
This process is similar to press moulding, except that the preforms or granules used in the press moulding process are replaced by a rubber-based or polyvinyl chloride-based mix, pre-heated to give it the viscosity required for injection into the mould.

The quotation marks surrounding the term "sock" in the EN above indicate that a "sock" used to cover the core and eventually form the lining of footwear manufactured by a molding process is different in design and use than a sock worn on the foot, often with footwear, for comfort, warmth, and protection. Although the rainboot's woven nylon textile material may function as a "mold release agent," it also forms the lining of the article. Since the rainboot 1) has soles and uppers of which over 90 percent of the external surface area is PVC; and 2) is supported or lined with a material other than PVC, the plain language of the tariff requires that the article be classified in subheading 6401.92.90, HTSUSA. For a similar ruling involving these issues, see Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 085976, issued March 5, 1990.

HOLDING:

The child's rainboot is classified in subheading 6401.92.90, HTSUSA, the provision for "Waterproof footwear...Other footwear: Covering the ankle but not covering the knee: Other: Other." The applicable duty rate is 37.5 percent ad valorem.

NY 856343, issued October 16, 1990, is hereby affirmed.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

Previous Ruling Next Ruling

See also: