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NY L85091




June 2, 2005

CLA-2-3:RR:NC:2:231 L85091

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 0306.23.0020

Mr. Michael Choi
MKC Customs Brokers Int’l, Inc.
9320 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Inglewood, CA 90301

RE: The tariff classification of salted shrimp from China

Dear Mr. Choi:

In your letter dated June 1, 2005, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, HaiTai Global Inc. of Montebello, CA.

The goods in question consist of very small shrimp (scientific name: Acetes chinensis), which are imported in sealed, plastic jars of varying sizes. The product is said to consist of shrimp, with 24 percent added salt. You stated in your letter that, in order to preserve the product, it is shipped with frozen or refrigerated seafood products, such as fish or crabs, in refrigerated containers at temperatures below freezing. Documentation from an earlier shipment indicated that the product was shipped at minus (-) 10 degrees Centigrade. When offered for retail sale, the product is held in the refrigerated display cases at temperatures near 40 degrees Fahrenheit, pending sale to the consumer. Although the product is often invoiced as “frozen, salted shrimp,” the CBP Laboratory has determined that the sample product did not freeze at minus (–) 18 degrees Centigrade, although held in refrigeration at that temperature for several days. An analysis by the CBP Laboratory at New York found the salt content in the sample submitted to be 24.5 percent and the pH to be 7.02. The amount of salt and other soluble solids in the product has lowered its freezing temperature below minus 18 degrees. Accordingly, these salted shrimp would not be frozen shrimp in their condition, as imported. Further, although these shrimp have been described as a fermented product, the Laboratory found no evidence of fermentation having occurred in the sample. Rather, the report notes “the sample has the appearance and consistency of shrimp in brine with clearly recognizable individual shrimp.”

The applicable subheading for this salted shrimp will be 0306.23.0020, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, whether or not chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine: flours meals and pellets of crustaceans, fit for human consumption: not frozen: shrimps and prawns, shell-on. The rate of duty will be Free.

This merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 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 P. Brady at 646-733-3030.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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