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NY J87490




July 31, 2003

CLA-2-09:RR:NC:SP:232 J87490

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 0901.21.0060

Ms. Helen I Sugar
BCB International
1245 Niagara Street
Buffalo, NY 14213-1501

RE: The tariff classification of coffee products from Canada

Dear Ms. Sugar:

In your letter dated July 15, 2003, on behalf of Timothy’s World Coffee, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Your request also asks for the country of origin for marking purposes of the product.

Samples were submitted with your request. The subject merchandise consists of a bulk foil bag of roasted and blended coffee, and a cardboard box with 25 packets containing roasted, blended and ground coffee. Each packet is used to brew one cup of coffee. The merchandise is produced in Canada from green coffee beans from various countries, including, but not limited to, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Kenya, Guatemala, Indonesia, Ethiopia and Nicaragua. All of the packaging materials used to produce the merchandise are products of the United States or Canada.

The applicable subheading for the bulk foil bag of roasted and blended coffee and the cardboard box of 25 packets of roasted, blended and ground coffee will be 0901.21.0060, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportioncoffee, roasted: not decaffeinatedother. The rate of duty will be free.

It is noted that since the coffee products are subject to a free rate of duty under subheading 0901.21.0060, HTS, there is no applicable rate of duty under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

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

Your inquiry also requests a ruling on the country of origin marking requirements for an imported article which is processed in a NAFTA country prior to being imported into the U.S. Marked samples were not submitted with your letter for review.

The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304.

The country of origin marking requirements for a "good of a NAFTA country" are also determined in accordance with Annex 311 of the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA"), as implemented by section 207 of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat 2057) (December 8, 1993) and the appropriate Customs Regulations. The Marking Rules used for determining whether a good is a good of a NAFTA country are contained in Part 102, Customs Regulations. The marking requirements of these goods are set forth in Part 134, Customs Regulations.

Section 134.1(b) of the regulations, defines "country of origin" as the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the U.S. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the "country of origin within this part; however, for a good of a NAFTA country, the NAFTA Marking Rules will determine the country of origin. (Emphasis added).

Section 134.1(j) of the regulations, provides that the "NAFTA Marking Rules" are the rules promulgated for purposes of determining whether a good is a good of a NAFTA country. Section 134.1(g) of the regulations, defines a "good of a NAFTA country" as an article for which the country of origin is Canada, Mexico or the United States as determined under the NAFTA Marking Rules. Section 134.45(a)(2) of the regulations, provides that a "good of a NAFTA country" may be marked with the name of the country of origin in English, French or Spanish.

You state that the imported coffee products are processed in a NAFTA country "Canada" prior to being imported into the U.S. Since, "Canada" is defined under 19 CFR 134.1(g), as a NAFTA country, we must first apply the NAFTA Marking Rules in order to determine whether the imported coffee products are goods of a NAFTA country, and thus subject to the NAFTA marking requirements.

Part 102 of the regulations, sets forth the "NAFTA Marking Rules" for purposes of determining whether a good is a good of a NAFTA country for marking purposes. Section 102.11 of the regulations, sets forth the required hierarchy for determining country of origin for marking purposes.

Applying the NAFTA Marking Rules set forth in Part 102 of the regulations to the facts of this case, we find that the imported bulk foil bag of roasted and blended coffee and the cardboard box of 25 packets of roasted, blended and ground coffee are goods of “Canada”, for marking purposes, noting the requirements of Section 102.20 (b).

Section 14 of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-295, 110 Stat. 3514 (October 11, 1996) amended the country of origin marking statute (19 U.S.C. 1304) to exempt imports of certain specified coffee, tea and spices from the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 subsections (a) and (b). The bulk foil bag of roasted and blended coffee and the cardboard box of 25 packets of roasted, blended and ground coffee are among the products included in this statutory marking exemption. Therefore, neither the coffee products nor their container(s) are required to be marked with the foreign country of origin.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 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 John Maria at 646-733-3031.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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