CLA-2-63:OT:RR:NC:N3:351

Mr. Paul Anuschat
Geo. S. Bush & Company, Inc.
600 N.W. Naito Parkway, Suite G
Portland, OR 97208

RE: The tariff classification of a Paper Yarn Laundry Basket from China

Dear Mr. Anuschat:

In your letters dated Dec. 29, 2010, and Jan. 14, 2011, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Fred Meyer, Incorporated, The Kroger Company, of Portland, Oregon.

You submitted pictures of a basket made of paper yarns over a metal frame. With your second letter you submitted a sample of the fabric made of paper yarns that cover the frame. They are made of rolled paper, considered a textile for tariff purposes. The yarns are woven to form textile fabrics. The outer layer of paper yarns is backed by a thin layer of nonwoven fabric. The basket measures 14” deep x 16” wide x 20” across the top. It has handles at the two ends.

In a telephone conversation with this office, you stated that the metal wire frame encompasses the top and bottom rims of the basket, joined at the corners, with one wire in the center of each side and one wire across the bottom to support a cardboard insert. The wire by itself does not form a basket that would be capable of holding items.

The applicable subheading for the paper yarn Woven Laundry Basket, model #287HPC1, style #44840556, will be 6307.90.9889, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for other made up textile articles, other. The rate of duty will be 7% ad valorem.

You suggest that the correct classification for this item is in subheading 4602.19.1800, HTSUS, which provides for basketwork, wickerwork and other articles, made directly to shape from plaiting materials or made up from articles of heading 4601: Of vegetable materials: Other (than of bamboo or rattan): Other baskets and bags, whether or not lined: Other (than of willow or palm leaf): Other (than wickerwork). However, rolled paper does not qualify as plaiting material of chapter 46; it is a textile of Section XI, as stated above.

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 the World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.

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 Mitchel Bayer at (646) 733-3102.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division