OT:RR:CTF:FTM H334131 LPO
Mr. Cesar Augusto Sanchez Gutierrez
International Trade Brokers and Forwarders
2261 NW 66th Ave #221
Miami, FL 33122
RE: Classification of Dried Hemp Flowers (Cannabis sativa L.)
Dear Mr. Gutierrez:
This letter is in response to your April 5, 2023 request, on behalf, Health Green S.A.S.
(hereinafter, “Health Green”), for a binding ruling regarding the tariff classification under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) of hemp flowers (Cannabis sativa
L.). This ruling request was forwarded to this office from the National Commodity Specialist
Division for a response. At the request of Health Green, we met on December 11, 2024, at which
time the characteristics of the product and general rulings process were discussed. Subsequently,
on April 22, 2025, in response to our request for additional information on how the hemp flowers
are processed, the original submission was supplemented with a detailed description of
postharvest processing of the hemp plant. Our ruling is set forth below.
FACTS:
The merchandise at issue concerns two varieties of hemp flowers exported from
Colombia. In their condition as imported, the subject hemp flowers are dried, de-stemmed, de-
leaved, and ground. Once harvested, the hemp plants are placed in a dehydrator until they reach
a final humidity level of 10-15%, after which branches are cut from the buds, leaves are removed
from the buds, and the buds are processed in a grinder resulting in 4-millimeter particles. There
are two varieties of the subject ground hemp flower, which Health Green markets as “Mallwa”
and “Puka Yana.” You stated that the primary use for the product at issue is the extraction of
CBD oil for the derivative hemp market.
ISSUE:
What is the tariff classification of the subject dried hemp flowers?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(“HTSUS”) is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI”). GRI 1 provides that
classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule
and any relative 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
GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows:
1404 Vegetable products not elsewhere specified or included.
* * *
5302 True hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), raw or processed but not spun; tow and waste of true
hemp (including yarn waste and garnetted stock).
Note 1(c) to Section XI, HTSUS, which includes Chapter 53, states that the section does
not cover cotton linters or other vegetable materials of Chapter 14.
Note 1 to Chapter 14, HTSUS, states:
This chapter does not cover the following products which are to be classified in
section XI: vegetable materials or fibers of vegetable materials of a kind used
primarily in the manufacture of textiles, however prepared, or other vegetable
materials which have undergone treatment so as to render them suitable for use only
as textile materials.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes
(“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS. While not legally binding or
dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are
generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings at the international level. See
T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989).
The General EN to Chapter 14, states. in pertinent part, that:
The Chapter excludes vegetable materials of a kind used primarily in the
manufacture of textiles, however prepared, and other vegetable materials processed
for use as textile materials (Section XI).
The General EN to Section XI states, in pertinent part, that:
In general, Section XI covers raw materials of the textile industry (silk, wool,
cotton, man-made fibres, etc.), semi-manufactured products (such as yarns and
woven fabrics) and the made up articles made from those products. However,
it excludes a certain number of materials and products such as those mentioned in
2
Note 1 to Section XI, the Notes to certain Chapters or in the following Explanatory
Notes on headings in the Section.
The General EN to Chapter 53 provides, in pertinent part, that:
In general, and with certain exceptions referred to in the Explanatory Note to
heading 53.05, this Chapter deals with vegetable textile materials (other
than cotton) at the various stages from the raw materials to their transformation
into woven fabrics.
Before determining whether the subject merchandise is excluded from Section XI by
operation of Note 1(c), supra, we first determine whether it is falls under the scope of the
exclusion set forth in Note 1 to Chapter 14, supra, i.e., whether it constitutes “vegetable
materials or fibers of vegetable materials of a kind used primarily in the manufacture of textiles.”
In this respect, the General EN to Chapter 53 explains that this chapter provides for vegetable
textile materials, in various stages between raw plant material and its transformation into woven
textile fabric. Based on your submission, the subject dried, de-stemmed, de-leaved, and ground
hemp flower is not a hemp product used as a textile or used to create textile articles. The part of
the hemp plant broadly used for textiles is the bast fibers, which are found in the outer portion of
the stalk. 1 These fibers from the stalk have the most desired properties for textile production,
such as length and strength. The subject hemp flower, by contrast, does not contain such
properties and is not preferred for textile manufacturing. Thus, the subject dried, ground hemp
flower does not constitute vegetable materials of a kind used primarily in the manufacture of
textiles. As such, it is not excluded from classification in Chapter 14 by operation of Note 1 to
that Chapter.
You contend that the hemp flower product at issue should be classified in subheading
1404.90.90, HTSUS, which provides for “Vegetable products not elsewhere specified or
included… Other: Other,” explaining that the product is akin to the subject of CBP New York
Ruling Letter (“NY”) N305504, dated August 28, 2019, which addressed shredded, dried,
ground, and pelletized hemp leaves that were imported principally for the extraction of CBD oil.
In NY N305504, CBP determined that the hemp leaf product was classified under heading 1404,
HTSUS. You further suggest that the instant hemp flower product is similar to the “hemp
biomass” classified under heading 1404, HTSUS, in NY N339899, dated May 16, 2024. We
note that in the hemp farming industry, hemp biomass generally refers to the stalks, leaves, and
other plant matter that remains after the flowers are harvested, 2 but can also be obtained by
shredding the entire hemp plant to create a homogenous “biomass.” 3 It is also important to
1
Dr. Allison P. Young, Fact Sheet: Hemp Fibers and Fabrics Kentucky State, University Cooperative Extension
(2020), https://www.kysu.edu/documents/school-of-agriculture-communities-and-the-
environment/fcs_hempfibersandfabrics_fs20_accessible.pdf (Last visited July 15, 2026).
2
See Mudassar Hussain et al., Valorization of Hemp Biomass Through Green Methods: A Sustainable Approach for
Next-Generation Food Packaging, 165 Trends in Food Science & Technology (2025),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105295 (last visited July 15, 2026).
3
See Remediation and Disposal Guidelines for Hemp Growing Facilities U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program,
U.S. Department of Agriculture (2021),
https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/HempRemediationandDisposalGuidelines.pdf (last visited , July
15, 2026).
3
clarify that hemp flowers are found on female hemp plants, which are composed of the following
parts: the cola, pistils, bracts, trichomes, sugar leaves, fan leaves, stem, branches and roots. The
cola is the flowering portion of the plant, which contains cannabinoids and terpenes, the
compounds currently most sought after for those growing for hemp extractions. 4 One type of
cannabinoid is cannabidiol oil (hereinafter “CBD”). Cannabinoids such as CBD are found in the
highest concentration in the flower portion of the plant but can also be extracted from the stem
and leaves. 5
CBP has previously considered the classification of other various hemp products under
heading 1404, HTSUS. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) H319673, dated March 30, 2023
(Wherein CBP classified hemp wraps made of hemp flour, taro flour, and adhesive, containing
no THC, for use with non-tobacco herbal smoking mixtures, under heading 1404, HTSUS); see
also, NY N324505, dated March 18, 2022 (regarding hulls of hemp seeds to be used as an
ingredient in snack foods which CBP classified under heading 1404, HTSUS). Based on the
foregoing, we find that the subject hemp flower falls under the scope of heading 1404, HTSUS.
In summary, given that subject hemp flower is not “of a kind used primarily in the
manufacture of textiles,” it is not excluded from Chapter 14 by operation of Note 1 to that
Chapter. Because it falls under the scope of heading 1404, HTSUS, it is excluded from
classification under Section XI by operation of Note 1(c) to that Section.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the dried hemp flower products are classified in heading
1401, HTSUS, and specifically subheading 1404.90.90, HTSUS, which provides for: “Vegetable
products not elsewhere specified or included… Other: Other: Other.” The column one general
rate of duty is free.
This ruling does not address the applicability of any additional duties that may apply to
the goods discussed herein. Likewise, duty rates are provided for your convenience and are
subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are
provided at www.usitc.gov.
Please note that 19 C.F.R. § 177.9(b)(1) provides that “[e]ach ruling letter is issued on the
assumption that all of the information furnished in connection with the ruling request and
incorporated in the ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and
complete in every material aspect. The application of a ruling letter by a CBP field office to the
transaction to which it is purported to relate is subject to the verification of the facts incorporated
in the ruling letter, a comparison of the transaction described therein to the actual transaction,
and the satisfaction of any conditions on which the ruling was based.”
4
Lauren McGue, Marysia Morawska, Maurice L. Robinson, and Anegla O’Callaghan, Hemp Basics: Anatomy of a
Female Hemp Plant. University of Nevada, Reno Extension, https://naes.agnt.unr.edu/PMS/Pubs/2021-4479.pdf
(last visited July 15, 2026).
5
Floral Hemp: From the Field and Greenhouse to CBD, USDA (2022), https://www.usda.gov/about-
usda/news/blog/2022/02/24/floral-hemp-field-and-greenhouse-cbd (last visited July 15, 2026).
4
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to entry documents filed at the time the
goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be
brought to the attention of the CBP officer handling the transaction.
Sincerely,
Gregory Connor, Interim Chief
Food, Textiles, and Marking Branch
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