CLA-2-58:OT:RR:NC:N3:352
William R. Rucker
DrinkerBiddle&Reath LLP
191 North Wacker Drive, Suite 3700
Chicago, IL 60606
RE: The tariff classification of embroidered award letters from the Dominican Republic
Dear Mr. Rucker:
In your letter dated July 23, 2014, on behalf of your client, Neff Motivation, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Two representative samples accompanied your request. The samples are being returned at your request, less those portions destroyed in testing or retained for file purposes.
The two samples are identified as Award Letters. They consist of an embroidered layer of felt cut into the shape of a letter, which has been attached by sewing to a ground fabric of felt, and measure approximately 5 x 5 inches and 8 x 8 inches respectively. According to the information in your original submission and subsequent contact, the Award Letters come in a variety of shapes and styles (e.g., letters, numbers, school patches, chevrons, etc.) and are imported fully assembled and ready for use. You indicate that, while the colors and styles will differ based on customer specifications, the Award Letters all consist of the same basic construction: embroidery using acrylic chenille yarn and polyester embroidery thread on a needleloom felt background, which is attached to a needleloom felt base. The felt ground fabric is of polyester fibers, as addressed in New York ruling N255555. As stated in your correspondence, after importation the Award Letters are sold to schools and athletic teams as suitable for use on school jackets, sweatshirts, mascot insignia, and for other displays of athletic and academic school pride.
The applicable subheading for the embroidered Award Letters will be 5810.92.1000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for embroidery in the piece, in strips or in motifs: other embroidery: of man-made fibers: badges, emblems and motifs. The duty rate for this provision is governed by additional U.S. Note 2 to Chapter 58, which states that the applicable rate of duty is 4.2 % ad valorem.
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 on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
This ruling is being issued under the assumption that the subject goods, in their condition as imported into the United States, conform to the facts and the description as set forth both in the ruling request and in this ruling. In the event that the facts or merchandise are modified in any way, you should bring this to the attention of Customs and you should resubmit for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. You should also be aware that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by Customs.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Maribeth Dunajski at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division