CLA-1 CO:R:C:G 083562 KWM
TARIFF: 6216.00.4400; 735.04
District Director of Customs
880 Front Street
Room 5-S-9
San Diego, California 92188
RE: Internal Advice Request No. 28/88, concerning tariff
classification of cross-country ski gloves and cross-country
ski glove cover.
Dear Sir:
This letter is in response to an Internal Advice Request
initiated by Marty Weiss of J.T. Racing, dated November 12, 1987.
The Internal Advice Request addressed the classification of the
subject goods under the Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (TSUSA). After reviewing the materials submitted, we
concur with the Import Specialist's determination that the
importer has demonstrated special design of the subject
merchandise for use in cross-country skiing.
FACTS:
The merchandise in this case consists of a glove and a glove
cover, described by the importer as follows:
Scandia Warm Weight Ski Glove, No. 123 - Ski gloves
constructed of leather, man-made nylon textiles, man-made
polyester insulation and nylon trim. The palm and interior
thumb surface are leather.
Artic Ski Glove Cover, No. 125 - Mitten-like cover
designed to be worn over insulating mittens. Constructed of
man-made nylon and leather. The leather covers the palm and
interior thumb surface.
The leather to which the importer refers is actually a synthetic
leather, advertised as "Clarinol S." Clarinol S is manufactured
from man-made fibers, and is advertised as both durable and
washable in the importer's sales literature.
Following initiation of the Internal Advice Request, the
importer also submitted a classification ruling request for the
above merchandise. This second submission requested not only a
TSUSA classification but also a ruling under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). The
second request also included goods described by the importer as:
Scandia Lightweight Ski Glove, No. 122 - Ski gloves
constructed of leather, man-made nylon textiles, man-made
polyester insulation and nylon trim. The palm and entire
thumb are leather.
The additional merchandise is similar in all respects to the
sample described as Scandia Warm Weight Ski Glove, No. 123
except that No. 122 is lighter in weight. The goods are
sufficiently similar that any HTSUSA classification applicable to
one will also apply to the other.
Since this office does not, as a rule, grant separate
classification requests while an internal advice request is
pending, the importer has been notified that all classification
issues will be addressed in this response. Therefore, we discuss
below both TSUSA classification for the purposes of open entries
(under the Internal Advice Request), and HTSUSA classification
for future transactions.
ISSUE
1) How are these goods classified under the Tariff Schedule
of the United States (TSUSA)?
2) How are these goods classified under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA)?
LAW AND ANALYSIS
Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated
Under the TSUSA, the goods at issue here were classified
initially under item 704.8550, TSUSA, providing for gloves of
man-made knit fibers. The importer has suggested that item
735.0660, TSUSA, providing for other ski equipment, is the more
appropriate classification. The criteria for classification
under the provisions for ski equipment require that the importer
demonstrate that the subject merchandise was specially designed
for the intended use. In the case of Stonewall Trading Company
v. United States, 64 Cust. Ct. 182, C.D. 4023 (1970), the court
was faced with determining whether a particular pair of gloves
imported into the United States met the specially designed for
criteria. In that case, the court found the following
characteristics to exist:
1. A hook and clasp to hold the gloves together;
2. An extra piece of vinyl stitched along the thumb portion
to meet the stress caused by the flexing of the knuckles
when the skier grasps the poles;
3. An extra piece of colored vinyl with padding
reinforcement and inside stitching, which is securely
stitched across the middle of the glove where the knuckles
bend and cause stress, and;
4. Cuffs with an elastic gauntlet to hold the gloves firm
around the wrist, so as to be waterproof, and to keep it
securely on the hand.
Prior interpretations of the Stonewall Trading case indicate that
these material requirements were necessary features of a glove
for classification under the ski equipment provisions of the
tariff schedules. However, we are of the opinion that the above
characteristics merely demonstrate prima facie that the subject
merchandise is specially designed for skiing. We do not believe
that failure to meet all of these specific criteria will prevent
classification in the ski equipment provisions. The criteria
that a glove be specially designed merely indicates that an
importer must make a showing to Customs satisfaction that the
gloves are, in fact, specially designed.
With regard to the instant merchandise, we concur with your
determination that the importer has, in this case, sufficiently
shown that these items are specially designed for skiing. We are
of the opinion that the gloves' failure to meet in all material
aspects the characteristics noted in the Stonewall case does not
bar them from classification as ski equipment.
Further, we also concur with your determination that the
subject merchandise is more specifically provided for under
subheading 735.0400, TSUSA, as cross-country ski equipment,
rather than the importer's claimed classification in item
735.0660, TSUSA.
HTSUSA Classification
Classification under the HTSUSA is made in accordance with
the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). The systematic
detail of the harmonized system is such that virtually all goods
are classified by application of GRI 1; that is, according to the
terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relevant
Section or Chapter Notes. Then, if GRI 1 fails to classify the
goods, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise
require, the remaining GRIs may be applied, taken in order.
In the instant case, subheading 6216.00.4400, HTSUSA,
provides for "Gloves, mittens and mitts: Other: Of man-made
fibers: Ski or snowmobile gloves, mittens and mitts." That
heading would appear to include goods such as these, which are
constructed of man-made fibers. The issue here is whether
articles of this heading must be designed for use as ski
equipment, similar to the TSUSA requirement above. Without
determining here that the TSUSA standards above are directly
applicable to the HTSUSA, we are of the opinion that these gloves
would meet that standard. In addition, we note Legal Note 6 to
Chapter 62, which specifies that ski suits and other ski garments
are those intended to be worn principally for skiing. Assuming,
arguendo, that the designed for criteria does not apply in this
instance, the subject gloves would also be of the kind worn
principally for skiing, and would therefore be classified in
subheading 6216.00.4400, HTSUSA.
HOLDING
Under the TSUSA, the sample items described as Scandia Warm
Weight Ski Glove and Artic Ski Glove cover are classified under
item 735.0400 as cross-country ski equipment. The applicable
duty rate is 3.5% ad valorem.
Under the HTSUSA, the sample items described as Scandia
Lightweight Ski Glove, Scandia Warm Weight Ski Glove, and Artic
Ski Glove Cover are classified in 6216.00.4400, HTSUSA, as
gloves, mittens and mitts, other, of man-made fibers, ski or
snowmobile gloves, mittens and mitts. The applicable duty rate
is 5.5% ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division