CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 085991 CMR

District Director of Customs
300 South Ferry Street
Terminal Island, CA. 90731

RE: Internal Advice Request 59/89 regarding classification of vertical blind material

Dear Sir:

This request for internal advice was initiated by Stein, Shostak, Shostak & O'Hara, on behalf of Home Fashions, Inc..

FACTS:

Home Fashions believes that the fifteen woven fabrics and one knit fabric which are the subject of this internal advice are classifiable as narrow woven fabrics of heading 5806, HTSUSA. All of the fabrics are cut from larger fabrics and measure less than thirty centimeters in width.

The fabrics are all manufactured in basically the same manner with the exception of styles 86792 (cambridge) and 86398 (newport). The fabrics are woven into full width material. The materials are then finished during which time a 100 percent acetate polyvinyl or polyethylene finish is applied. The finish is generally applied via a resin bath with a follow up applica- tion using a "doctor blade knife". The fabrics are then dried and set and cut into strips three and one-half inches wide. Styles 86792 and 86398 differ in the application of the polyethylene finish. In those styles the yarn is impregnated with the polyethylene during the spinning process. After the weaving process, at the finishing process by thermofixation on a tenter, the polyethylene is melted causing it to form a plastic layer which binds the threads together to prevent them from unravelling or fraying. We assume the fabrics are then dried and set, after which they are cut into strips three and one-half inches wide. -2-

The woven fabric strips are wound into rolls 140 yards long and placed into individual corrugated boxes for shipment to the United States where they are finished for use as window blinds.

ISSUE:

Are the woven fabric strips classifiable as narrow woven fabric of Chapter 58, HTSUSA, or as other woven fabric?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of products under the HTSUSA is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that "classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes, provided such headings or notes do no otherwise require, according to [the remaining GRIs taken in order]."

Note 5, Chapter 58, states, in relevant part:

For the purposes of heading 5806, the expression "narrow woven fabrics" means:

(a) Woven fabrics of a width not exceeding 30 cm, whether woven as such or cut from wider pieces, provided with selvages (woven, gummed or otherwise made) on both edges

The Explanatory Notes, which are the official interpretation of the HTSUS at the international level, provide further elabora- tion on which fabrics are included in heading 5806 as narrow woven fabrics. The Notes for heading 5806 state in pertinent part:

In accordance with Note 5 to this Chapter, this heading includes as narrow woven fabrics:

(2) Strips of a width not exceeding 30 cm, cut (or slit) from wider pieces of warp and weft fabric (whether cut (or slit) longitudinally or on the cross) and provided with false selvedges on both edges, or a normal woven selvedge on one edge and a false selvedge on the other. False selvedges are designed to prevent unravelling of a piece of cut (or slit) fabric and may, for example, consist of a row of gauze stitches woven into the wider fabric before cutting (or slitting), of a simple hem, or they may be produced by gumming the edges of strips, or by fusing the edges in the case of certain ribbons of man-made fibers. Strips cut (or slit) from fabric but not provided with a selvedge, either real or false, on each edge, are excluded from this heading and classified with ordinary woven fabrics. -3-

The fabrics at issue do not have real or false selvages. While the fabrics do not unravel, this is the result of the polyvinyl or polyethylene finish applied to the entire fabric and not as the result of some treatment to the edges of the fabrics to make them fast.

The Los Angeles Customs Laboratory tested the fabric samples and determined that all but one failed to have fast edges. The one fabric which did have a fast edge, style 84052 (British lace), is a knit fabric, not woven. A copy of the laboratory test in enclosed for your reference.

Style 84052 (British lace) style is excluded from heading 5806 because the heading provides for woven, not knit, narrow fabrics. The remaining styles of fabrics are excluded from the heading because they do not have selvages, real or false, as required by Note 5(a), Chapter 58. They are therefore classified with ordinary fabrics.

HOLDING:

The fabrics at issue are not classifiable as narrow woven fabrics of heading 5806. Assuming the fabrics are made from spun staple fibers, they are classified as ordinary fabrics.

Style 84052 (British lace) is classified in subheading 6002.20.1000, HTSUSA, which provides for other knitted or crocheted fabric, other, of a width not exceeding 30 cm: open- work fabrics, warp knit. The fabric falls within textile category 229 and is dutiable at 16 percent ad valorem.

The remaining styles are classified as acrylic woven fabrics in subheading 5512.29.00, HTSUSA. Insufficient information was provided to supply the statistical suffixes.

The designated textile and apparel category may be subdivided into parts. If so, the 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 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 updated weekly and is available for inspection at your local Customs office.

-4-

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

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

6cc: Area Director, New York Seaport
1cc: CITA
1cc: Legal Reference Section
1cc: Phil Robins