CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 085150 CC

Mr. Jeff Musser
Expeditors International
880 Hinckley Road
P.O. Box 4389
Burlingame, CA 94011-4389

RE: Tariff classification of a dust skirt

Dear Mr. Musser:

This letter is in response to your inquiry of June 8, 1989, in behalf of Expeditors International, requesting tariff classification of a dust skirt. A sample was submitted for examination.

FACTS:

The sample at issue, a dust skirt designed to fit a twin bed, is made of 50 percent polyester and 50 percent cotton woven fabric, according to your submissions. It has an embroidered lace on three sides, which is composed of 60 percent linen and 40 percent cotton material, and is designed to hang over the edge of a mattress. The dust skirt is decorative, but may remain on a bed at all times.

ISSUE:

Whether the dust skirt is classifiable as a bedspread under Heading 6304 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA)?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.

Heading 6302, HTSUSA, provides for bed linen, among other articles. The Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at the international level, states that bed linen includes, e.g., sheets, pillow cases, bolster cases, eiderdown cases and mattress covers. Therefore, according to the Explanatory notes, a dust skirt is not specifically provided for in Heading 6302.

Heading 6304, HTSUSA, provides for other furnishing articles, excluding those of Heading 9404, HTSUSA. Dust skirts are not provided for in Heading 9404. A subheading of Heading 6304 provides for bedspreads. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, the Unabridged Edition (1983), defines a bedspread as "an outer covering, usually decorative, for a bed." Because the merchandise at issue is decorative and serves to cover a bed in a manner similar to a bedspread, we find that it is classifiable as a bedspread in Heading 6304.

The dust skirt is woven, not knitted or crocheted and, thus, is classified under subheading 6304.19, HTSUSA, which provides for bedspreads, other. The question which remains is whether the merchandise at issue is classified under the subheading for bedspreads, other, of cotton, or under the subheading for bedspreads, other, of man-made fibers.

Subheading note 2(A), Section XI, HTSUSA, requires that products of Chapters 56 to 63 which contain two or more textile materials be regarded as consisting wholly of that textile material which would be selected under Note 2 to Section XI. Note 2 provides that goods consisting of a mixture of two or more textile materials are to be classified as consisting wholly of the one textile material which predominates by weight. According to your submissions, the dust skirt, excluding the embroidery, is composed of 50 percent cotton and 50 percent polyester material. Therefore, we cannot classify the merchandise at issue under a specific subheading at this time.

HOLDING:

The merchandise at issue is classified as a bedspread in Heading 6304. If the dust skirt is composed of more than 50 percent cotton material, excluding the embroidery, it is classified under subheading 6304.19.0500, HTSUSA, which provides for bedspreads, other, of cotton, containing any embroidery, lace, braid, edging, trimming, piping or applique work, textile category 362, and dutiable at a rate of 13.6 percent ad valorem. Alternatively, if the dust skirt is composed of more than 50 percent polyester material, excluding the embroidery, it is classified under subheading 6304.19.1500, HTSUSA, which provides for bedspreads, other, of man-made fibers, containing any embroidery, lace, braid, edging, trimming, piping or applique work, textile category 666, and dutiable at a rate of 19.8 percent ad valorem.

The merchandise may be submitted to a Customs laboratory for analysis, at the discretion of the classifying officer, and will be classified in accordance with the results of that analysis to determine which fiber predominates by weight.

Your sample will be returned, under separate cover, as requested.

Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation and the restraint (quota/visa) categories applicable to textile merchandise, you should contact your local Customs office prior to importation of this merchandise to determine the current status of any import restraints or requirements.

The designated textile and apparel category may be subdivided into parts. If so, visa and quota requirements applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected. Since part categories are the result of international bilateral agreements which are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes, to obtain the most current information available, we suggest that you check, close to the time of shipment, the Status Report On Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an internal issuance of the U.S. Customs Service, which is available for inspection at your local Customs office.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division