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NY F89123




July 13, 2000

CLA-2-04:RR:NC:2:231 F89123

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 0406.10.8400; 0406.10.8800

Mr. Jens Bang Pedersen
Arla Foods, Inc.
2840 Morris Avenue
Union, NJ 07083-4809

RE: The tariff classification of Labneh cream cheese from Denmark.

Dear Mr. Pedersen:

In your letter, dated June 22, 2000, you requested a classification ruling.

The submitted samples, Labneh cream cheese, are packed in 200 gram plastic trays. The ingredients are pasteurized cow’s milk, lactic acid cultures, and salt. There is a minimum of 13 percent fat. No rennet has been added. The ingredient breakdown submitted with your inquiry indicates that there is 71 percent moisture (83.5 percent moisture on a fat-free basis), 29 percent total solids, 14.5 percent fat (50 percent fat in the dry matter), and 0.8 percent salt. The pH is 4.6. The cheese is heated treated after fermentation.

During the manufacturing process, cream undergoes pasteurization, fermentation (when lactic acid cultures are added), concentration (when the whey is removed), addition of salt, heating, mixing, homogenization, metal detection, filling, and cooling. The merchandise is then palletized, cooled, and dispatched.

The applicable subheading for Labneh cream cheese, if entered under quota, will be 0406.10.8400, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for cheese and curd, fresh (unripened or uncured) cheese, including whey cheese, and curd, other, other, other, other cheese and substitutes for cheese (except cheese not containing cow’s milk, and 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 Labneh cream cheese, if entered outside the quota, will be 0406.10.8800, HTS, which provides for cheese and curd, fresh (unripened or uncured) cheese, including whey cheese, and curd, other, other, other, other cheese and substitutes for cheese (except cheese not containing cow’s milk, and soft ripened cow’s milk cheese), other. The rate of duty will be $1.509 per kilogram. In addition, products classified in subheading 0406.10.8800, 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 0406.10.8400, 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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