CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 088638jlj
Mr. J. A. Kaufman, Jr.
St. Johns Import & Export Co., Inc.
P. O. Box 4460
Jacksonville, Florida 32201
RE: Classification of rattan webbing sheets used in the
manufacture of furniture; Heading 4601
Dear Mr. Kaufman:
In your letter of January 4, 1991, you requested a tariff
classification ruling under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTSUSA) for rattan webbing imported from China.
You submitted pictures and a small sample of the merchandise
along with your request.
FACTS:
The instant merchandise is rattan webbing made from half-
round rattancore which is woven into sheets 22 inches wide or
wider and in lengths of 50 feet or more.
You state that this material will be used in the United
States in the manufacture of furniture, e.g., headboards,
dressers, desks, chairs, television stands, night stands, and
tables.
ISSUE:
Is the merchandise in question classified under subheading
4601.20 or 4601.91 of the HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Articles are classified under the HTSUSA in accordance with
the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that
the classification of articles is determined by the terms of the
headings and any relative section or chapter notes.
Subheading 4601.20, HTSUSA, provides for "mats, matting and
screens of vegetable material." All other types of plaited
products in sheet form of vegetable materials are classified as
"other" in subheading 4601.91, HTSUSA.
The Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of the
tariff at the international level, define these terms as follows:
(2) Certain finished materials, for example:
(a) Mats and matting (floor coverings, etc.),
including in particular the so-called
Chinese (or Indian) mats and matting
(whether rectangular or in other shapes),
made by weaving or binding parallel strands
of plaiting materials with other plaiting
materials, twine, cord, etc.
(b) Coarse matting such as the straw mats used
for horticultural purposes.
(c) Screens or panels such as those of willow
or ossier; building panels of plaiting
materials (straw, reeds, etc.) laid
parallel, compressed and bound together
at regular intervals with base metal wire.
These building panels or slabs may be
covered on all surfaces and edges with
kraft paperboard.
The instant rattan webbing sheets do not fit within the
above-given definitions of mats, matting and screens. As
indicated above, mats and mating are floor coverings or
horticultural coverings. Screens are room dividers, building
panels or (as defined in most dictionaries) devices to close off
windows or doors.
Since the instant merchandise cannot be classified in
subheading 4601.20, it must be classified in subheading 4601.91.
HOLDING:
The instant merchandise is classified under the provision
for plaiting materials, plaits and similar products of plaiting
materials,...woven, in sheet form...: other: of vegetable
materials: of one or more of the materials bamboo, rattan, willow
or wood, in subheading 4601.91.2000, HTSUSA, dutiable at the rate
of 6.6 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division