CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 088446 KWM
TARIFF No.: 5603.00.90
Mr. Richard Macchione
Boston Bay Brokers, Inc.
225 Friend Street, Suite 700-1
Boston, MA 02114
RE: Reconsideration of NYRL 851481; Hub Fabric Leather Co.;
LAJTA; Nonwoven fabric; man-made fiber; impregnated with
rubber.
Dear Mr. Macchione:
This is in response to your letter to our New York office
dated October 16, 1990, requesting as reconsideration of New
York Ruling Letter (NYRL) 851481. Your letter and the samples
provided were forwarded to this office for a response. After
consideration of the points raised, we have determined that
NYRL should not be modified or revoked.
FACTS:
One of the products at issue in NYRL 851481 is referred
to as "LAJTA" and is imported from Hungary. LAJTA is made
from a substrate material containing 40% viscose, 40%
polypropylene and 20% polyamide, all of which are man-made
textile substances. The fibers are cross lapped, needled and
compressed to form a nonwoven textile material (the
substrate). The sample substrate is a rather dense and
somewhat thick web. The substrate material is dried and then
impregnated in a nitrile rubber bath, dried, and impregnated
with nitrile rubber a second time. After a final drying, the
material is "split (shaved)" into layers of varying thickness,
depending on the desired end use.
You do not dispute the classification of the other
products in NYRL 851481. Based on your understanding of the
Explanatory Notes, you believe the classification of the LAJTA
material is incorrect:
You will note from the enclosed substrate that it
has the appearance of a felt like material as
described in item 56.02, (stitch bonded & needled)
page 773 & 774 of the General Explanatory Notes.
This, in our contention makes this a "felt" material
. . .
It is therefore our contention that this material is not
subject to the various references to the Explanatory
Notes as you have indicated but is an exception to these
references & should be classified under Chapter 39 or 40.
Specifically exempted under 56.02, Paragraph (2), (a) &
(b).
Letter dated October 16, 1990.
ISSUES:
Is the LAJTA material at issue in NYRL 851481 a nonwoven
textile or a felt?
Is the LAJTA material impregnated, coated, covered or
laminated?
Is the LAJTA material classified as a textile material or
a rubber product?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States Annotated (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. In the
event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis
of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise
require, the remaining GRI's may be applied, taken in order.
Two classification questions must be answered here, each
independent of the other. One pertains to the construction of
the material: is it a felt or a nonwoven? The second has to
do with the combination of the textile and rubber elements: is
the LAJTA impregnated, coated, covered or laminated?
Felt v. Nonwoven
While we agree with your assertion that the sample
substrate product may have the appearance of felt,
classification as a "felt" or "nonwoven" is determined by
other factors. Legal Note 2 to Chapter 44, HTSUSA, states:
2. The term "felt" includes needleloom felt and fabrics
consisting of a web of textile fibers the cohesion
of which has been enhanced by a stitch-bonding
process using fibers from the web itself.
Emphasis in the original. Nonwovens are described in the
Explanatory Notes to heading 5603, HTSUSA:
A nonwoven is a sheet or web of predominantly
textile fibres oriented directionally or randomly and
bonded.
The Explanatory Notes also detail the various methods of
producing nonwoven textiles. Your submission does not detail
the method of construction of the substrate, except to
describe it as stitch bonded and needled. We do not consider
the substrate to be a textile within the scope of the "felt"
provisions despite the needling procedure. Any resemblance to
felt is lost with the shaving process, when the cohesion of
the fibers themselves is lost to the bonding of the rubber
(described below). It is Customs' opinion that the term
nonwoven more accurately describes the material. Therefore,
we consider it a nonwoven.
Impregnated, coated, covered or laminated
Note 3 to Chapter 56, HTSUSA, provides guidelines for the
classification of textiles "impregnated, coated, covered or
laminated":
3. Headings 56.02 and 56.03 cover respectively felt and
nonwovens, impregnated, coated, covered or laminated
with plastics or rubber whatever the nature of these
materials (compact or cellular).
Heading 56.03 also includes nonwovens in which
plastics or rubber forms the bonding substance.
Heading 56.02 and 56.03 do not, however, cover:
(a) Felt impregnated, coated, covered or
laminated with plastics or rubber,
containing 50% or less by weight of
textile material or felt completely
embedded in plastics or rubber (Chapter 39
or 40); or
(b) Nonwovens either completely embedded in
plastics or rubber, or entirely coated or
covered on both sides with such materials,
provided that such coating or covering can
be seen with the naked eye with no account
being taken of any resulting change of
colour (Chapter 39 or 40); or
(c) Plates, sheets or strip of cellular rubber
combined with felt or nonwovens, where the
textile material is present merely for
reinforcing purposes (Chapter 39 or 40).
Your letter would appear to assert that the LAJTA material at
issue is excluded from Chapter 56, HTSUSA, under one or more
of these exclusions. The material is not, however, completely
embedded in the rubber, nor is it fully covered or coated on
both sides by rubber. Lastly, we do not believe that the
textile is present here merely for reinforcing purposes.
None of the exclusions apply to this material.
The result of the various notes regarding textile and
rubber combinations is to classify as a textile any material
which is essentially textile and those which are rubber as
rubber. In this case, the most accurate description of the
nitrile rubber Bath process may be "impregnation." The
nonwoven textile becomes impregnated with the nitrile rubber,
but does not lose its character to the rubber component. As
your letter states, and the Chapter Notes describe, the rubber
forms the bonding substance for a nonwoven textile.
Impregnated nonwoven textiles of Chapter 56, HTSUSA
We consider the LAJTA material to be a nonwoven textile
impregnated with rubber. Although the appearance of the
substrate material may be similar to that of felt, the
formation and bonding process brings the material, as
imported, within the scope of heading 5603, which provides for
impregnated nonwovens. Even if we were to accept your
assertion that this is a felt material, the only possible
modification to NYRL 851481 would be to classify the product
as an impregnated felt rather than an impregnated nonwoven.
We believe, however, that any resemblance to a felt is lost
when the substrate is split into sheet of nonwoven bonded by
the rubber impregnation. This material is not a rubber
product of Chapter 39, because it is does not fall within any
of the exclusions provided for in the nomenclature. It is not
excluded whether we consider it a felt or a nonwoven.
HOLDING:
New York Ruling Letter 851481 is affirmed. The LAJTA
material is classified in subheading 5603.00.90, HTSUSA. The
applicable rate of duty on these goods is 12.5 percent ad
valorem.
Sincerely,
John A. Durant
Director
Commercial Rulings Division