CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 953992 ch

Linda Brown
Import Manager
D.J. Powers Co., Inc.
P.O. Box 9239
35 Barnard Street
Savannah, Georgia 31412-9239

Re: Classification of a molded plastic cooler from China; bicycle accessory; Sports Graphics.

Dear Ms. Brown:

This is in response to your letter of April 20, 1993, requesting tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) for an insulated cooler which may be attached to a bicycle. Please reference your client, Janko USA, Inc.

This ruling letter takes into account the arguments raised in your correspondence to this office of April 20, 1993, your letter of March 26, 1993 to the District Rulings Coordinator, Savannah, Georgia, and correspondence of April 23, 1993 to this office on behalf of your client by Mr. James Crawford.

FACTS:

You have not provided this office with a sample of the subject merchandise. However, in your letter of March 26, 1993, you supply the following description of an article designated as the "Cycle Buddy":

Cycle Buddy is a bicycle accessory made of light, durable, brightly colored high impact [molded] plastic, measuring approximately 11 inches high, 9 inches thick, and 12 1/2 inches wide, weighing approximately 5 pounds. It has a storage compartment (with lid) featuring a polyurethane insulated cooler which holds up to 10 - 12 ounce cans. It features a specially designed bracket which securely and quickly hooks product over handle bars of most bicycles. A locking handle facilitates the attachment of product to bicycles. Cycle Buddy also features special bike reflectors on both its bracket and its front exterior surface. The "Cycle Buddy" (tm) logo appears on the front and lid of product. Cycle Buddy is designed to be used in conjunction with a bicycle. The specifically designed bracket and reflectors lend essential character to the product. Cycle Buddy, is a new product which will be sold through bike shops, sporting goods stores, and sporting goods departments of major department stores.

In addition, this office has received a sales brochure for the Cycle Buddy. This material indicates that the Cycle Buddy is detachable, and possesses a handle for ease of carrying in the hand.

ISSUE:

What is the proper tariff classification for the product designated as the "Cycle Buddy"?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of goods under the HTSUSA is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification is determined first in accordance with the terms of the headings of the tariff and any relative section or chapter notes. Where goods cannot be classified on the basis of GRI 1, the remaining GRI will be applied in order.

Heading 4202, HTSUSA, provides for:

Trunks, Suit-Cases, Vanity-Cases, Executive-Cases, Briefcases, School Satchels, Spectacle Cases, Binocular Cases, Camera Cases, Musical Instrument Cases, Gun Cases, Holsters and Similar Containers; Travelling- Bags, Toilet Bags, Rucksacks, Handbags, Shopping-Bags, Wallets, Purses, Map-Cases, Cigarette-Cases, Tobacco- Pouches, Tool Bags, Sports Bags, Bottle-Cases, Jewellery Boxes, Powder-Boxes, Cutlery Cases and Similar Containers, of Leather or of Composition Leather, of Sheeting of Plastics, of Textile Materials, of Vulcanised Fibre or of Paperboard, or Wholly or Mainly Covered with Such Materials or With Paper. (Emphasis added).

By its terms, heading 4202 encompasses the enumerated articles and containers similar thereto. The subject merchandise is not specifically described in the heading. Hence, it is classifiable under heading 4202 only if it may be considered "similar" to the enumerated articles.

In addition, heading 4202 is divided into two parts by a semi-colon. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which is the official interpretation of the nomenclature at the international level, state, in pertinent part at page 613, that:

[T]he articles covered by the first part of the heading may be of any material...The articles covered by the second part of the heading must, however, be only of the materials specified therein or must be wholly or mainly covered with such materials or with paper.

The Cycle Buddy is composed of molded plastic, which is not one of the materials specified in the second part of heading 4202. Therefore, it cannot be classified as a container similar to those enumerated in the second part. However, it may be classified under heading 4202, regardless of its material composition, if it is a container similar to those listed in the first half of the provision.

Containers of the first part of the heading include suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases and briefcases. These articles may be rigid, square or rectangular in shape, and are designed to store and carry personal effects (i.e. privately owned movable goods or property) during travel. The Cycle Buddy is a hard-sided rectangular receptacle suitable for storing and carrying personal effects from place-to-place. Indeed, the advertising literature for the Cycle Buddy states:

Keep It Cool, Hot & Dry!

Now you can carry cold drinks and snacks or sports gear and valuables conveniently on your bicycle. This brightly colored, durable cooler easily attaches to your bike -- yet it detaches quickly so you can carry it along anywhere. (Emphasis added).

On this basis, we conclude that the Cycle Buddy is similar to containers of the first part of the heading. Therefore, it is classifiable under heading 4202.

The description of the Cycle Buddy which you have provided suggests that you are of the opinion that it should be classified as a bicycle accessory. Parts and accessories of bicycles are classifiable under heading 8714. The EN to heading 8714, at page 1437, provide in part that:

This heading covers parts and accessories of a kind used with...non-motorised cycles..., provided the parts and accessories fulfil both the following conditions:

(i) They must be identifiable as being suitable for use solely or principally with the above- mentioned vehicles;

and

(ii) They must not be excluded by the provisions of the Notes to Section XVII (see the corresponding General Explanatory Note).

(Emphasis in original).

The General Explanatory Notes encompassing parts and accessories are found at pages 1410 through 1412. The General EN, at page 1410, state that parts and accessories of Section XVII, which includes parts and accessories of heading 8714, "must not be more specifically included elsewhere in the Nomenclature (see paragraph (C) below)." Therefore, an article which qualifies as a part and accessory for a bicycle may be excluded from heading 8714 if it is more specifically described in another provision of the tariff schedule.

Paragraph C, at page 1412, provides that:

Parts and accessories, even if identifiable as for the articles of this Section, are excluded if they are covered more specifically by any other heading elsewhere in the Nomenclature, e.g.:

* * *

(4) Tool bags of leather or of composition leather, of vulcanised fibre, etc. (heading 42.02)

(Emphasis in original).

Hence, tool bags are classified under heading 4202 even when they may be deemed parts and accessories to, for example, a bicycle.

The exclusion of tool bags from the parts and accessories provisions of Section XVII demonstrates that headings 4202 and 8714 are not mutually exclusive provisions. In addition, mounting accessories such as brackets, which bring a tool bag within the ambit of heading 8714, do not alter the character of a tool bag so as to remove it from heading 4202. Finally, the exclusion suggests that when an article is classifiable in both headings 4202 and the parts and accessories provisions of Section XVII, heading 4202 will be regarded as the more specific provision. This interpretation is supported by the fact that heading 4202 is limited to containers. On the other hand, the parts and accessories provisions may include but are not limited to containers.

The Cycle Buddy is an article classifiable under both headings 4202 and 8714. The fact that this item is secured to a bicycle by means of a bracket does not remove it from heading 4202. Although you note that the Cycle Buddy also possesses reflectors, your description of the merchandise indicates that this feature is ancillary its main purpose as a container to transport and store food and beverages. Therefore, this article retains its character as a container classifiable under heading 4202. Pursuant to the General EN to Section XVII, articles classifiable as parts and accessories are excluded from this section if they are described more specifically elsewhere in the nomenclature. As heading 4202 more specifically describes the Cycle Buddy, it is not classifiable as a part and accessory to a bicycle.

In Mr. Crawford's submission of April 23, 1993, he draws our attention to Sports Graphics, Inc. v. United States, 806 F. Supp. 268 (CIT 1992). In that case, the Court of International Trade addressed the proper classification of a soft-sided insulated cooler under the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS). In Sports Graphics, the Court acknowledged that in the past articles similar to the cooler had been found to meet the statutory definition of "luggage." Id. at 271; See Prepac, Inc. v. United States, 78 Cust. Ct. 108, 433 F. Supp. 339 (1977) (insulated plastic picnic bags with handles and zippers classified as "luggage"); Aladdin Int'l Corp. v. United States, 13 CIT 1038 (1989) (plastic lunch box properly classified as "luggage"). However, it declined to follow this precedent, and found that an insulated cooler fit the statutory requirements for item 772.15, TSUS, which provided for articles chiefly used for preparing, serving or storing beverages. Id. at 272.

Mr. Crawford argues that the Court in Sports Graphics found that an insulated cooler was not ejusdem generis with the articles enumerated in the luggage provision under the TSUS, and that this finding should preclude the classification of similar merchandise under heading 4202, HTSUSA. In addition, he states that coolers have the principal function of storage; i.e. to keep food and beverages cold. The fact that coolers may be used to transport food and beverages is only of secondary importance. Hence, in light of the reasoning utilized in Sports Graphics, the "chief use" of coolers is storage and heading 4202 is inapplicable. In the alternative, he suggests that the Cycle Buddy is properly classified under heading 3926, which provides for other articles of plastic.

Sports Graphics does not operate as precedent in this case, as it was decided under the TSUS. The TSUS has been superseded by the HTSUSA. The applicable headings at issue under the TSUS are not analogous to the applicable headings under the HTSUSA. For example, heading 4202, HTSUSA, and item 706, TSUS, vary in scope, as heading 4202 contains language and exemplars not included in item 706. Similarly, item 772, TSUS, which provides for articles chiefly used for preparing serving, or storing food or beverages, bears no resemblance to heading 3926, which encompasses other articles of plastic.

Furthermore, the Court in Sports Graphics relied on General Interpretive Rule 10(e) to resolve the dispute. This rule governed classification of goods based upon the principal of "chief use." General Interpretive Rule 10(e) was not carried over into the HTSUSA. In addition, the doctrine of principle use is not at issue in this case as containers classifiable under heading 4202 are completely excluded from heading 3926. See Chapter 39, note 2(h), HTSUSA. Based on the foregoing, Sports Graphics does not control the outcome of this ruling. Accordingly, the Cycle Buddy remains classified under heading 4202.

HOLDING:

The subject merchandise is classifiable under subheading 4202.12.2025, HTSUSA, which provides for trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases, briefcases, school satchels and similar containers: with outer surface of plastics or of textile materials: with outer surface of plastics, structured, rigid on all sides: other. The applicable rate of duty is 20 percent ad valorem.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director