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July 23, 1999

CLA-2-04:RR:NC:2:231 D86697

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 0406.90.9500; 0406.90.9700

Mr. Stephen De Castro
All-Ways Forwarding International, Inc.
Hemisphere Center
U.S. Routes 1 and 9 South
Newark, NJ 07114

RE: The tariff classification of Red Castello cheese from Denmark.

Dear Mr. De Castro:

In your letter, dated December 4, 1998, you have requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Tholstraup Cheese USA, Inc., Warren, NJ.

The submitted sample, Red Castello cheese, product number 0401, is triple cream, mold ripened cheese with an edible orange rind. The ingredients are pasteurized milk and cream, salt, rennet, milk, acid culture, mold culture, and red rind culture.

The U.S. Customs Laboratory has performed an analysis on the sample and has determined that it contains, by weight, 45.7 percent fat on an as-is basis or 65.7 percent fat on a dry basis, and 35.7 percent moisture on an as-is basis or 71.1 percent moisture in the non-fatty matter. It has also reported that there is no mold distributed throughout the interior of the cheese.

Additional U.S. note 3(a), chapter 4, HTS, states, "For the purposes of this chapter, the term 'soft ripened cow's milk cheese' means cheese which has a prominent crust formed on the exterior surface as a result of curing or ripening by biological curing agents such as molds, yeasts or other microorganisms." The sample does not have a prominent crust.

Accordingly, the applicable subheading for Red Castello cheese, if entered under quota, will be 0406.90.9500, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for cheese and curd, other cheese, other cheeses, and substitutes for cheese, including mixtures of the above, other, including mixtures of the above (excluding goods containing mixtures of subheadings 0406.90.61 or 0406.90.63), other, other, containing cow's milk (except soft-ripened cow's milk cheese), described in additional U.S. note 16 to chapter 4 and entered pursuant to its provisions. The rate of duty will be 10 percent ad valorem.

The applicable subheading for Red Castello cheese, if entered outside the quota, will be 0406.90.9700, HTS, which provides for cheese and curd, other cheese, other cheeses, and substitutes for cheese, including mixtures of the above, other, including mixtures of the above (excluding goods containing mixtures of subheadings 0406.90.61 or 0406.90.63), other, other, containing cow's milk (except soft-ripened cow's milk cheese), other. The rate of duty will be $1.553 per kilogram. In addition, products classified in subheading 0406.90.9700, HTS, will be subject to additional duties based on their value, as described in subheadings 9904.06.38 - 9904.06.49, HTS.

For goods classified in subheading 0406.90.9500, an import license, issued to the importer by the United States Department of Agriculture, will be required at the time such merchandise is entered for consumption into the United States.

Questions regarding licensing procedures and applications for licenses to import cheese subject to quota should be addressed to:

Import Quota Manager for Dairy Products
STOP 1029/Room 5531-S
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250-1029

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 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 Specialist Thomas Brady at (212) 637-7064.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director

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