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HQ 965084




September 18, 2001

CLA-2 RR:CR:TE 965084 GGD

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 5609.00.1000

Ms. Dianne Rothhammer
Rothhammer International, Incorporated
Post Office Box 2959
Lancaster, California 93539-2959

RE: Revocation of NY 833912; Textile Cord Lanyard of Heading 5609; Not Other Articles of Iron or Steel of Heading 7326

Dear Ms. Rothhammer:

In New York Ruling Letter (NY) 833912, issued to you December 1, 1988, a cotton cord lanyard with a steel clip and swivel was classified (effective January 1, 1989) in subheading 7326.90.9090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), the provision for "Other articles of iron or steel: Other: Other: Other: Other, Other." We have reviewed NY 833912 and have found the ruling to be in error. Therefore, this ruling revokes NY 833912.

Pursuant to section 625(c), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1625(c)), notice of the proposed revocation of NY 833912 was published on August 1, 2001, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 35, Number 31.

FACTS:

In your request to Customs for the issuance of a binding ruling, the merchandise classified in NY 833912 was described as a lanyard made of cotton cord and metal. The article was classified under heading 7326, HTSUSA, on the basis that the metal swivel and metal clip imparted the composite good's essential character.

ISSUE:

Whether the lanyard of cotton cord and metal is properly classified under heading 7326, HTSUSA, or under heading 5609, HTSUSA.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification under the HTSUSA is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI may then be applied. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level, facilitate classification under the HTSUSA by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and GRI.

Lanyards consisting of a loop of textile material that are worn on the person to provide hands-free securing and suspension of a separate object, have been classified under headings 5609 and 6307, HTSUSA. Heading 5609, HTSUSA, covers "Articles of yarn, strip or the like of heading 5404 or 5405, twine, cordage, rope or cables, not elsewhere specified or included." Heading 6307, HTSUSA, covers "Other made up [textile] articles, including dress patterns." In Merriam-Webster's Deluxe Dictionary, Tenth Collegiate Edition (1998), "lanyard" is defined, in pertinent part, as: "2 a : a cord or strap to hold something (as a knife or a whistle) and usually worn around the neck." Since lanyards are designed "to hold something," it is implicit that they incorporate some component(s) of general purpose hardware (usually of metal, but occasionally of plastics or other materials) such as ferrules, bands, swivels, hooks, snaps, clips, clasps, etc. These items are used to form or reinforce the loop of textile material, and/or to attach the object to be held. As such, they are not considered articles separate from the lanyard.

Lanyards classified under headings 5609 and 6307, however, are distinguished from lanyards used solely or principally as clothing accessories (e.g., a cord worn to symbolize a military citation), which are classifiable under heading 6217, HTSUSA. See Headquarters Ruling Letters (HQ) 951316, dated July 10, 1992, HQ 955811, dated May 19, 1994, NY 829181, dated May 2, 1988, NY 890142, dated August 11, 1993, NY B85585, dated June 6, 1997, NY E87781, dated October 13, 1999, and NY F86765, dated May 15, 2000. Imported merchandise which consists of a textile lanyard and an article separate from the lanyard that the lanyard is designed to suspend (e.g., a knife, whistle, compass, bottle opener, split ring, key chain, badge holder, etc.), are considered composite goods that generally are classified pursuant to the principles of General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 3, often with a finding that the essential character of the complete good is imparted by the separate, suspended component. See NY A88092, dated October 8, 1996, NY D86756, dated February 3, 1999, NY E81587, dated May 13, 1999, and HQ 964170, dated June 5, 2001.

In this case, the lanyard is a composite good made up of different materials, i.e., cotton cord and metal. However, since the metal swivel and clip are components normally incorporated to create "a cord or strap to hold something...worn around the neck," we find that it is the textile cord component which imparts the good's essential character. Therefore, the subject lanyard is properly classified as a textile article under heading 5609, HTSUSA, not under heading 7326, as an other article of iron or steel.

HOLDING:

The lanyard composed of cotton cord and metal is classified in subheading 5609.00.1000, HTSUSA, the provision for "Articles of yarn, strip or the like of heading 5404 or 5405, twine, cordage, rope or cables, not elsewhere specified or included: Of cotton." The general column one duty rate is 3.8 percent ad valorem.

NY 833912, issued December 1, 1988, is hereby revoked.

In accordance with 19 U.S.C. ยง 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.

Sincerely,


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