CLA-2-20:OT:RR:NC:2:228
Ms. Jennifer Osterhause
McCormick & Company, Inc.
18 Loveton Circle
Sparks, MD 21152
RE: The tariff classification of prepared gherkins
Dear Ms. Osterhause:
In your letters dated August 20, 2009 and September 15, 2009, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
A description and list of ingredients were submitted with your August letter. A sample, ingredients breakdown, and description of the packaging accompanied your September letter. The sample was forwarded to the United States Customs and Border Protection laboratory for analysis. The product a “sweet relish” is said to consist of 50-60 percent diced gherkins in a liquid medium of 10-20 percent sugar, 10-20 percent high fructose corn syrup, 1-10 percent, each, of water, acetic acid, salt, xanthan gum, calcium chloride, and potassium sorbate, and one percent spice extract with Polysorbate 80. Laboratory analysis found the sample contained 2.1 percent acetic acid. The gherkins will be imported in packages ranging from 5-gallon pails to 2250-lb bulk totes.
The applicable subheading for this product, when made in a country with which the United States has normal trade relations, will be 2001.10.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for vegetables, fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid…cucumbers including gherkins. The rate of duty will be 9.6 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/.
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 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