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NY C81672




June 8, 1998

CLA-2-95:RR:NC:SP:225/222 C81672

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 5806.31.0000

Margaret Polito
Neville, Peterson & Williams
80 Broad St. 34th Floor
New York, New York 10004

RE: The tariff classification of decorative wired ribbon garland from Taiwan

Dear Ms. Polito:

In your letter dated November 11, 1997 you requested a classification ruling on behalf of your client Berwick Industries. We apologize for the delay, but there were a number of rulings awaiting the results of Customs' appeal of Midwest of Cannon Falls.

The ribbon garland, style # AABW 210Y-Q383, is composed of 100 percent woven cotton fabric. It is printed with snowflakes, stars and church bells. Inside the lengthwise hem is a narrow wire. All four hems are sewn with gold metallic yarn. The presence of the wire allows the ribbon to hold its shape after the user has manipulated it into various shapes such as bows or garlands.

In your letter, you expressed the opinion that the classification of this ribbon is impacted by Midwest of Cannon Falls because it has a holiday (Christmas) motif. In your letter, you cite two New York rulings which placed certain wired garlands within 9505. NY B86766 does not apply in this instance as the items were twelve foot long, non-textile garlands used for home decoration retail packed for retail sale. They were classified in 9505.90.4000. The same applies to NY 812896. All the items in that letter were in six yard length, non-textile garlands. One item was classified in 9505.10 because:

"Although you call it a ribbon, it is more commonly known as tinsel garland. It is the type of merchandise which is chiefly used as Christmas tree garland."

The other two were classified in 9505.90.4000 because they were akin to the exemplars of that subheading, paper streamers.

The instant article is thirty feet long, is textile and has a winter motif. To quote from your letter,

"The wire inside the hems enables the user to create festive bows to adorn Christmas wreaths, or create a garland for a Christmas tree. Creative persons can find other uses for this ribbon garland in decorating their homes for the holiday season."

The instant item is not an article with a specific use, but material that in the hands of a creative person can be put to any number of uses, including some which are excluded from 9505, such as packaging material. Classification within 9505 is limited to articles.

As an alternative, your letter suggested 6307 as a proper classification. However, in HQ 960767, dated Jan. 15, 1998, Headquarters addressed the classification of the following:

A woven 100% nylon ribbon, 2 inches wide and 36 feet long. A thin support metal wire is sewn into the ribbon along each lengthwise edge. The ribbon features overlock stitching which forms a hem on all four sides. This stitching prevents the ribbon from unraveling until cut for use.

In HQ 960767, Headquarters stated:

"The wording of the heading requires that merchandise, to be classifiable thereunder, (1)not be classifiable elsewhere; (2)be "made up" within the terms of Section XI, Note 7, HTSUSA; and (3)be an article (as opposed to being piece goods)."

It went on to explain that the article did not meet the requirements of "made up" of Note 7, Section XI and therefore, was not classifiable within Heading 6307. To meet that definition, the ribbon must be cut otherwise than into squares or rectangles. The instant ribbon is basically in the shape of a long rectangle.

The same reasoning applies to the instant product. It is not an article and therefore is excluded from both Heading 9505 and Heading 6307.

The applicable subheading for the Decorative Wired Ribbon Garland, style # AABW 210Y-Q383, will be 5806.31.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for "Narrow woven fabrics, other than goods of heading 5807, other woven fabrics, of cotton. The duty rate will be 9.5 percent ad valorem.

Please note that a yarn that contains any amount of metal is regarded in its entirety as "metalized yarn" for tariff purposes. Thus, the determination of which textile material predominates by weight is based not on the actual weight of metal, but on the actual weight of all yarns that contain metal. You have stated that the ribbon which is the subject of this ruling is made of 100 percent cotton. It does contain a certain percentage by weight of metalized yarns which we assume to be less than 50 percent of the total weight (excluding the wire) of the ribbon. We have not verified this through laboratory testing. Upon importation, however, if the fiber content is found by laboratory testing or other means to be different from that stated in this ruling, then this ruling does not apply.

The ribbon falls within textile category designation 229. Based upon international textile trade agreements products of Taiwan are subject to quota and the requirement of a visa.

The designated textile and apparel categories may be subdivided into parts. If so, visa and quota requirements applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected. Part categories are the result of international bilateral agreements which are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes. To obtain the most current information available, we suggest that you check, close to the time of shipment, the Status Report on Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an internal issuance of the U.S. Customs Service, which is available for inspection at your local Customs office.

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

A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialists Alice J. Wong at 212-466-5538, Alice Masterson at (212) 466-5892 or Camille Ferraro at (212) 466-5885.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director

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