CLA-2-64:OT:RR:NC:N3:447

Mr. Daniel Rothenberg
AWR Products
537 Howe Road
Merion, PA 19066

RE: The tariff classification of footwear from China

Dear Mr. Rothenberg:

In your letters dated June 19, 2014, and July 3, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Pictures were submitted with your first letter. A sample of Style #618143 and an upper component breakdown was submitted with your second letter.

Style # 618143 is a girl’s below the ankle closed toe/closed heel, slip-on shoe. The upper is made from cotton fabric and elastic gore. In addition to adhesive, the upper is stitched to the outer sole. It has an outer sole of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) with applied textile fibers covering the majority of the external surface area in contact with the ground. A separately applied rubber/plastics foxing-like band overlaps the upper around the entire shoe. You state that the value of the shoe is not over $2.50/per pair.

The applicable subheading for Style # 618143 will be 6404.19.5290, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textiles materials: other: other: valued not over $3/pair: other: with uppers of vegetable fibers and having outer soles with textile materials having the surface area in contact with the ground, but not taken into account under the terms of additional U.S. note 5 to this chapter. The rate of duty will be 7.5 percent ad valorem.

Style # 618143 is not marked with the country of origin. Therefore, if imported as is, it will not meet the country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Accordingly, the footwear would be considered not legally marked under the provisions of 19 C.F.R. 134.11 which states, "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 manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article." 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 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 Stacey Kalkines at Stacey [email protected].

Sincerely,

Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division