CLA-2-7:RR:NC:2:228
Mr. Juan E. Jimenez, Jr.
La Casa de los Ajos
713 La Paz Street
San Juan, PR 00907
RE: The tariff classification of garlic from China.
Dear Mr. Jimenez:
In your letters dated March 23, 2007, and April 9, 2007, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
Descriptions of four products were submitted with your first letter. Pictorial literature was submitted with your second letter. The items noted in your request include fresh bulb garlic and fresh peeled garlic. The fresh bulb garlic will be imported in 1-lb net bags, or loose in 10 –kg and 30-lb cartons. The fresh peeled garlic processed in citric acid, is vacuum-packed in clear plastic bags containing 1-lb and 5-lbs, net weight.
The applicable subheading for the fresh garlic bulbs will be 0703.20.0010, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetables, fresh or chilled… garlic…fresh whole bulbs. The rate of duty will be 0.43 cents per kilogram.
The applicable subheading for the whole peeled cloves in citric acid will be 2005.99.9700, HTSUS, which provides for other vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid…other vegetables and mixtures of vegetables…other…other. The rate of duty will be 11.2 percent 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/.
Your inquiry does not provide enough information for us to issue a classification ruling on the dehydrated garlic and the fresh peeled garlic vacuum packed in nitrogen. Your request for a classification ruling for the dehydrated garlic should include a sample of the imported product. For the garlic vacuum packed in nitrogen, clarification of its condition as imported is required. The submitted pictures suggest this product is frozen (“IQF” noted on the label) and your letter states that this product must be “shipped and stored in refrigeration” at a temperature between 30 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Is this product in frozen condition when imported?
The merchandise in question may be subject to antidumping duties or countervailing duties. Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Import Administration in the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection. You can contact them at http://www.trade.gov/ia/ (click on “Contact Us”). For your information, you can view a list of current AD/CVD cases at the United States International Trade Commission website at http://www.usitc.gov (click on “Antidumping and countervailing duty investigations”), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using the AD/CVD Search tool at http://www.cbp.gov (click on “Import” and “AD/CVD”).
This merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling FDA at telephone number (301) 575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html.
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 Stanley Hopard at 646-733-3029.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division