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NY N015693




August 30, 2007

CLA-2-64:RR:NC:SP:247

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6405.90.9000

Ms. Susan Morelli
Converse Inc.
One High Street
North Andover, MA 01845

RE: The tariff classification of footwear from China

Dear Ms. Morelli:

In your letter dated August 10, 2007 you requested a tariff classification ruling.

The submitted sample, your reference number CT363-08F-139, is a high-top Converse All Star athletic shoe, identified as the “Red Chuck Taylor AS” shoe. The shoe has a flexible rubber/plastic outer sole, a lace-up closure, a textile material lining, a rubber/plastic toe and toe-bumper and an encircling foxing or foxing-like band. The predominant constituent external surface area material of the upper, you state, is composed of 100% natural tree bark. You stipulate in your letter that this brown bark, cloth-like material has no added fillers and is constructed by South Ugandan craft entirely from the inner bark harvested from the Mutuba tree during the wet season. The tree bark is said to be merely beaten with wooden mallets in order to create this soft texture upper material and as such, it is not a non-woven textile material, but appears to be excluded as “other vegetable materials” of Chapter 14, HTSUS.

The applicable subheading for the “Red Chuck Taylor AS” shoe, reference number CT363-08F-139, will be 6405.90.9000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Other footwearotherother. The rate of duty will be 12.5% ad valorem.

Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.

We note that the submitted sample is not properly marked with the country of origin. Therefore, if imported as is, the footwear will not meet the country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Accordingly, the footwear would be considered not legally marked under the provisions of 19 C.F.R. 134.11 which states, "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 container) will permit, in such manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article."

We are returning the sample as you requested.

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 Richard Foley at 646-733-3042.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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