CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 086551 DRR

Ms. Elaine G. Ponce
Homemaker Industries, Inc.,
295 5th Avenue
New York, New York 10016

Re: Stay Put Rug Pad

Dear Ms. Ponce:

This is in reference to your letter dated January 11, 1990, requesting the classification of a stay put rug pad under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA).

FACTS:

The sample consists of an open mesh warp knit polyester fabric, with a mesh size of approximately 3/8 inch. The fabric is completely covered in foamed polyvinyl chloride plastic. The fabric will be imported in various sizes. It will be available in rolls which are 100 meters long and 70, 80, 150 or 240 centimeters in width. The rolls of fabric will be imported from West Germany and sold as rolls or cut and packaged in the United States. It will be available in five packaged sizes ranging from 20 inches by 32 inches to 95 inches by 132 inches. The pads serve to prevent area rugs from sliding or buckling and extend the life of the rugs by absorbing the effects of traffic.

ISSUE:

Whether the rug pads at issue are classifiable under subheading 3918.10.1050, HTSUSA, or 3921.12.1500, HTSUSA.

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LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of merchandise is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI), 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. Chapter 57 provides for carpets and other textile floor coverings. However, Note 2 to that chapter states that floor covering underlays are not included in that chapter. Note 1, Chapter 59, states that that chapter only covers woven fabrics and the knitted or crocheted fabrics of heading 6002. Note 3(b), Chapter 56 indicates that nonwoven fabrics which are completely coated or embedded in plastics are classifiable under Chapter 39. Heading 3918 provides for, among other things, floor coverings of plastics, in rolls or in the form of tiles. Heading 3921, HTSUSA, provides for other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics. Although some of the rug pads are cut into rectangular pieces and packaged as flat goods after entering the United States, the product is imported in rolls and is therefore more specifically provided for in Heading 3918.

HOLDING:

The stay put rug pad at issue is classifiable under subheading 3918.10.1050, HTSUSA, as floor coverings of plastics, whether or not self adhesive, in rolls or in the form of tiles..., with a duty rate of 5.3 percent ad valorem.

Sincerely,

Jerry Laderberg
Acting Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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