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NY N022955





March 5, 2008

CLA-2-54:OT:RR:NC:TA:348

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 5407.20.0000

Ms. Priscilla R. Royster
John S. Connor, Inc.
799 Cromwell Park Drive
Glen Burnie, MD 21061

RE: The tariff classification of polypropylene fabric from China.

Dear Ms. Royster:

In your letter dated January 31, 2008, on behalf of client CCC Global Packaging, you requested a classification ruling.

The submitted sample is identified as CCC-N8381Y. It is a woven fabric composed of 98% polypropylene and 2% calcium carbonate. It is manufactured from strips that measure approximately 2.5 millimeters in the warp direction and 2.75 millimeters in the filling direction. The strips meet the dimensional requirements to be considered textile strip of heading 5404 and the fabric made from the strips is therefore considered a man-made textile fabric. It contains 10 strips per inch in the warp and 10.5 strips per inch in the filling. The fabric is laminated to an 18 micron to 20 micron printed sheet of Oriented Polypropylene with a clear coating consisting of polypropylene and polyethylene. The clear coating is used between the fabric and the printed Oriented Polypropylene sheet as an adhesive. The clear coating is not visible to the naked eye. The woven fabric will be imported in rolls measuring 45 inches by 12,000 feet. Your correspondence indicates that the fabric will be used to manufacture bags.

Note 2 to Chapter 59, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, (HTSUS), defines the scope of heading 5903, under which textile fabrics which are coated, covered, impregnated, or laminated with plastics are classifiable. In addition, it provides guidance on the classification of combinations of textile and plastics. Note 2 states in part that heading 5903, HTSUS, applies to:

(a) Textile fabrics, impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics, whatever the weight per square meter and whatever the nature of the plastic material (compact or cellular), other than:

(1) Fabrics in which the impregnation, coating or covering cannot be seen with the naked eye (usually chapters 50 to 55, 58 or 60): for the purposes of this provision, no account should be taken of any resulting change in color;

Since the plastic coating on the fabric designated as CCC-N8381Y is not visible to the naked eye except for a change of color, this fabric is not considered a coated fabric either for the purposes of classification in heading 5903, HTSUS, as a coated fabric of textile or as a plastic product of chapter 39.

The applicable subheading for this fabric will be 5407.20.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn, including woven fabrics obtained from materials of heading 5404, woven fabrics obtained from strip or the like. The duty rate will be free.

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/.

This fabric falls within textile category 620. With the exception of certain products of China, quota/visa requirements are no longer applicable for merchandise which is the product of World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries. Quota and visa requirements are the result of international agreements that are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes. To obtain the most current information on quota and visa requirements applicable to this merchandise, we suggest you check, close to the time of shipment, the “Textile Status Report for Absolute Quotas” which is available on our web site at www.cbp.gov. For current information regarding possible textile safeguard actions on goods from China and related issues, we refer you to the web site of the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the Department of Commerce at otexa.ita.doc.gov.

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 Rosemarie Hayward at 646-733-3064.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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