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 > 1998 NY Rulings > NY C85488 - NY C85569 > NY C85547

Previous Ruling Next Ruling
NY C85547




April 23, 1998

CLA-2-RR:NC:TA:352 C85547

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

Mr. John Reich
Cataract Customhouse Brokerage, Inc.
2094 Grand Island Boulevard
Grand Island, NY 14072

RE: Classification and country of origin determination for "The Lewis" ice bag set; 19 CFR 102.21(c)(2); tariff shift; NAFTA eligibility; Article 509

Dear Mr. Reich:

This is in reply to your letter dated March 20, 1998, on behalf of your client Sovereign Products International, requesting a classification, NAFTA determination and country of origin determination for a product designated as "The Lewis" Ice Bag, a kit for crushing ice which will be imported into the United States from Canada.

FACTS:

The subject merchandise is a set packed in retail packing which consists of a bag for placing ice in, a wooden mallet used to crush the ice, and a recipe book with a soft cover which contains recipes for a variety of mixed drinks. The bag measures 10.75 inches by 7.5 inches. It is constructed with greige 100% cotton duck fabric with a taped warp. The fabric is woven in India, shipped to Canada where it is cut to size, hemmed and sewn into a bag with an overlapping flap of fabric which is folded down to provide a closure for the bag.

The club-like mallet is 10 inches long and has been fashioned from a wooden rod approximately 1.125 inches in diameter. Its handle has been turned and has been tapered in the shape of a miniature baseball bat and then flares sharply back to its full diameter forming the head of the mallet. The wood is grown in Canada and all subsequent processing steps to manufacture the mallet are performed in Canada.

The recipe/instruction booklet is a twelve page booklet with a soft cover which provides one page of instructions on how to use the set and the balance of the booklet provides recipes in English and French on how to mix various alcoholic beverages with the use of the crushed ice that is the product of using this set. The instruction booklet is printed in Canada and produced wholly from Canadian produced materials.

The packing materials consist of a clear plastic tube with a paper bottom and a cardboard divider which has been inserted into the plastic tube and shaped to provide separate compartments for the components of the set. The cardboard insert has marketing information in both French and English. The plastic tube has a plastic cover with marketing information printed on it. This packing is the type used for retail sale of this set.

The set is used by emptying a tray of ice cubes into the bag and using the wooden mallet to crush the ice by striking it against the bag which is held on a flat hard surface.

ISSUE:

What are the classification, NAFTA eligibility and country of origin of the subject merchandise?

CLASSIFICATION:

In accordance with the Explanatory Note (X) to General Rule of Interpretation 3(b) the term "goods put up for retail sale" means goods which:

(a) consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings....

(b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and

(c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking (e.g., in boxes or cases or on boards).

In the case before us for consideration all three criteria for considering a group of articles to be goods put up in sets for retail sale have been met. The ice crushing set is put up in retail packing, each item in the set contributes to the activity of preparing mixed drinks with crushed ice and the articles are classifiable in at least two different headings. Therefore the ice crushing set is considered a set for the purposes of GRI

General Rule of Interpretation 3 states in part that:

When, by application of rule 2(b) or for any other reason, goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows:

(a) The heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description. However, when two or more headings each refer...to part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the goods.

(b) ...goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified with reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted wholly of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable.

(c) When goods cannot be classified by reference to 3(a) or 3(b), they shall be classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration.

The three components of this set are classifiable in three different headings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States (HTS). The textile bag is classifiable in heading 6307, HTS, the wood mallet is classifiable in heading 4417, HTS, and the recipe/instruction booklet is classifiable in heading 4901, HTS. Since the set which is put up in retail packing consist of three components that are classified in three different headings of the HTS, and by operation of GRI 3(a), they are all considered equally specific, classification of this set is not possible by reference to GRI 3(a).

Each of the components of this set is significant to the overall function of the set and no one item gives it its essential character. It is therefore not possible to classify this set by reference to GRI 3(b). Consequently, by operation of GRI 3(c), this retail set is classifiable in subheading 6307.90.9989, HTS, which is the last heading which equally merits consideration.

The applicable subheading for the ice crushing set will be 6307.90.9989, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides for other made up articles...other, other, other, other, other. The rate of duty will be 7 percent ad valorem.

NAFTA ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for preferential treatment under the NAFTA, goods must be originating goods within the rules of origin in General Note 12(b), HTS.

General Note 12 (b), HTS, states in part:

(b) For the purposes of this note, goods imported into the customs territory of the United States are eligible for tariff treatment and quantitative limitations set forth in the tariff schedule as "goods originating in the territory of a NAFTA party" only if--

(i) they are goods wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States; or

(ii) they have been transformed in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States so that--

(A) except as provided in subdivision (f) of this note, each of the non-originating materials used in the production of such goods undergoes a change in tariff classification described in subdivisions (r), (s) and (t) of this note or the rules set forth therein, or

(B) the goods otherwise satisfy the applicable requirements of subdivisions (r), (s) and (t) where no change in tariff classification is required, and the goods satisfy all other requirements of this note;

Since the woven fabric which is used to produce the bag is a non-originating material because it was woven in India, we must examine General Note 12(t) to ascertain whether the fabric has undergone the required change in classification which would result in this component of the set becoming an originating good for the purposes of the NAFTA.

General Note 12(t)/63 states in part that:

(4) A change to heading 6304 through 6310 from any other chapter, except from headings 5106 through 5113, 5204 through 5212, 5308 through 5308 or 5310 through 5311, chapters 54 through 55, or headings 5801 through 5802 or 6001 through 6002, provided that the good is both cut (or knit to shape) and sewn or otherwise assembled in the territory of one or more of the NAFTA parties.

The non-originating cotton woven fabric is classifiable in heading 5209, HTS. Since the heading under which the ice crushing bag is classifiable is 6307, HTS, the fabric does not meet the required change in classification specified in the rule set forth in GN12(t)/63(4). Consequently, the ice crushing set is not eligible for reduced duties under the NAFTA since the set is not considered a good originating in the territory of a NAFTA party.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - LAW AND ANALYSIS:

On December 8, 1994, the President signed into law the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. Section 334 of that Act (codified at 19 U.S.C. 3592) provides new rules of origin for textiles and apparel entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on and after July 1, 1996. On September 5, 1995, Customs published Section 102.21, Customs Regulations, in the Federal Register, implementing Section 334 (60 FR 46188). Thus, effective July 1, 1996, the country of origin of a textile or apparel product shall be determined by sequential application of the general rules set forth in paragraphs (c)(1) through (5) of Section 102.21.

Section 102.21 (d) of the Customs Regulations states:

(d) Treatment of sets. Where a good classifiable in the HTSUS as a set includes one or more components that are textile or apparel products and a single country of origin for all the components of the set cannot be determined under paragraph (c) of this section, the country of origin of each component of the set that is a textile or apparel product shall be determined separately under paragraph (c) of this section.

Since the wood mallet and the recipe/instruction booklet are wholly produced in Canada, we must examine the country of origin of the textile bag to determine its country of origin pursuant to section 102.21(d) CR.

Paragraph (c)(1) states that "The country of origin of a textile or apparel product is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which the good was wholly obtained or produced." As the subject merchandise is not wholly obtained or produced in a single country, territory or insular possession, paragraph (c)(1) of Section 102.21 is inapplicable.

Paragraph (c)(2) states that "Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1) of this section, the country of origin of the good is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which each of the foreign materials incorporated in that good underwent an applicable change in tariff classification, and/or met any other requirement, specified for the good in paragraph (e) of this section:"

Paragraph (e) in pertinent part states that "The following rules shall apply for purposes of determining the country of origin of a textile or apparel product under paragraph (c)(2) of this section":

HTSUS Tariff shift and/or other requirements

6307.90 The country of origin of a good classifiable in 6307.90 is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the fabric comprising the good was formed by a fabric-making process.

As the fabric used to manufacture the ice crush bag is woven in a single country, that is, India, as per the terms of the tariff shift requirement, country of origin is conferred in India for the ice crushing bag.

Therefore, the country of origin of the textile bag is India, the country of origin of the wood mallet is Canada and the country of origin of the Recipe/Instruction booklet is Canada.

HOLDING:

"The Lewis" Ice Bag is a set classifiable in subheading 6307.90.9989, HTS, and dutiable at 7 percent ad valorem. The set does not qualify as goods originating in the territory of a NAFTA party. The country of origin of the textile fabric bag is India while the country of origin of the booklet and the wooden mallet is Canada.

The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise identified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in section 19 CFR 177.9(b)(1). This sections states that a ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 181).

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 Specialist Alan Tytelman at 212-466-5896.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

Previous Ruling Next Ruling

See also: