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NY 889019




September 27, 1993

CLA-2-64:S:N:N8:346 889019

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6404.11.20

Mr. John Pellegrini
Ross & Hardies
65 East 55 Street
New York, N.Y. 10022-3219

RE: The tariff classification of a bootie type sneaker from China.

Dear Mr. Pellegrini:

In your letter dated August 5, 1993, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

The submitted sample is a man's over-the-ankle athletic shoe with a combination textile and leather upper, a cemented-on molded rubber/plastic bottom and two plastic "Velcro" type strap closures across the instep. The shoe has no tongue, but instead has a textile faced neoprene bootie-type upper section which covers the wearer's instep and ankle. It also has a pieced-in leather front toe and vamp portion and a leather back heel counter portion which, when taken together with the textile bootie part, form the completed external surface area components of this shoe's upper. As you indicate in your letter, the shoe also has additional leather accessories and reinforcements at the sides ("side quarters") and at the back ("back counter"), a textile loop accessoy piece at the rear of the shoe and "that portion of the unit molded bottom which overlaps the upper" is also considered as an accessory and/or reinforcement. With all the "accessories and reinforcements" and the plastic "Velcro" type strap closures excluded, you state that the external surface area of the upper is approximately 60.4 percent textile. When all the leather accessories and reinforcements are included, you further state that the external surface area of the upper is "approximately 65.6 percent leather and 34.2 percent textile". To substantiate your analysis, you have attached a report prepared by "Precision Testing Laboratories", a division of Genesco Inc., supporting your measurements.

The applicable subheading for athletic shoe described above (no style number provided) will be 6404.11.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for footwear, in which the upper's external surface is predominately textile materials (note that an accessory or reinforcement on top of another material is not part of the upper's external surface but the material hidden underneath is); in which the outer sole's external surface is predominately rubber and/or plastics; which is either "sports" footwear or a tennis, basketball, gym or training (jogging) shoe, or the like; and in which the upper's external surface is over 50 percent leather after every leather accessory and reinforcement present is included as part of the upper's external surface . The rate of duty will be 10.5 percent ad valorem.

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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