CLA-2-62:OT:RR:NC:3:353

Mr. Kevin Maher
C-Air Customhouse Brokers
181 S Franklin Avenue
Valley Stream, NY 11581

RE: The tariff classification of handkerchief set from China.

Dear Mr. Maher:

In your letter dated June 24, 2008, on behalf of Mann & Bros., you requested a classification ruling. As requested, the sample will be returned.

The submitted sample is a Style #VH404 Handkerchief Set consisting of three handkerchiefs in a gift box that is enclosed in a clear plastic sleeve.

The three white handkerchiefs are approximately 16-inches square and are constructed of woven 100% cotton fabric, hemmed, and feature an embroidered initial measuring approximately 9mm by 30mm. The embroidery is in non-contrasting stitching and is set approximately 4½-inches from the corner of the handkerchief. In the gift box, the three handkerchiefs are folded into cylinder shapes around light cardboard and the embroidered initial is prominently displayed to highlight the ornamental characteristic of the stitching.

The gift box measures approximately 5-inhes by 6-inches and is 1½-inches in height, is of rigid paperboard that is covered with a faux leather plastic sheeting, and is lined on the bottom with a textile fabric. The item referenced in your inquiry as a gift box can be reused and does not have a lid. It is of the class or kind of merchandise principally used around the home, on dresser tops and other surfaces to hold any of a wide variety of items.

The applicable subheading for the Style #VH404 handkerchiefs will be 6213.20.2000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for handkerchiefs: of cotton: other. The duty rate will be 7.1 percent ad valorem. The textile category designation is 330.

The applicable subheading for the Style #VH404 gift box will be 3924.90.5600, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for …other household articles…of plastics: other: other. The rate of duty will be 3.4 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/.

With the exception of certain products of China, quota/visa requirements are no longer applicable for merchandise which is the product of World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries. Quota and visa requirements are the result of international agreements that are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes. To obtain the most current information on quota and visa requirements applicable to this merchandise, we suggest you check, close to the time of shipment, the “Textile Status Report for Absolute Quotas” which is available on our web site at www.cbp.gov. For current information regarding possible textile safeguard actions on goods from China and related issues, we refer you to the web site of the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the Department of Commerce at otexa.ita.doc.gov.

The submitted sample is not properly marked with its country of origin, which is hidden from view underneath the handkerchiefs. Section 134.11 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 134.11) provides in part:

Unless excepted by law...every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article, at the time of importation into the Customs territory of the U.S.

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 Kenneth Reidlinger at 646-733-3053.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division