CLA-2-64:OT:RR:NC:N3:447
Mr. William Ortiz
S.J. Stile Associates Ltd.
181 South Franklin Ave.
Valley Stream, NY 11581
RE: The tariff classification of footwear from Vietnam
Dear Mr. Ortiz:
In your letter dated January 9, 2017 you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of H &Y
Technology. Five samples were submitted with your request.
Item# I6006AA, is a girl’s closed-toe, closed-heel, below-the-ankle, lace-up athletic shoe. The external surface of the upper is made from textile material, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). You provided the component breakdown of the upper as 57 percent PVC and 43 percent textile. The PVC forming a diamond pattern on the vamp, a portion of the heel, and sides of the shoe adds support and structure to the upper. The shoe features a U-shaped eyestay and a separately attached padded tongue that is lasted on the sides by means of an elastic band. There is a rubber or plastic piece on the heel with an attached textile heel tab. The word Sync appears on the rubber or plastic piece, the lateral side of the shoe, and a square label on the upper portion of the tongue. The outer sole is made from rubber/plastic. One side of the shoe has an interior slit with a USB port unit inside of it. The shoe also features an internal mechanism that allows the lateral side, and part of the medial side of the outer sole to light up. It has a foxing or foxing-like band that completely encircles the perimeter of the shoe, and overlaps the upper by at least ¼ of an inch. You provided a value of over $6.50 but not over $12/pair.
Item # I6006A is made in the same manner as Item# I6006AA, with the exception of the outer sole. In this case the majority of external surface area of the rubber/plastic sole is covered by textile material. The textile external surface is the material that touches the ground. You state that the textile covers 70 percent of the sole.
Item# I6008AA, is a boy’s closed-toe, closed-heel, below-the-ankle, bootie type slip-on shoe. The upper is made from textile material and irregularly shaped PVC pieces. You provided the component breakdown of the upper as 52 percent PVC and 48 percent textile. The irregularly shaped decorative PVC pieces affixed to the vamp are not lasted under the sole and do not provide structural strength to an otherwise complete textile upper. They are considered accessories or reinforcements and are not included in the external surface area measurement of the upper. Rubber or plastic straps on the medial and lateral sides hold in place an elastic band across the vamp. The strap on the medial side has a rubber or plastic pouch with the word Sync. Inserted in the pouch is a USB port unit. The shoe also features an internal mechanism that allows the lateral side, and part of the medial side of the outer sole, to light up. There is a plastic or rubber piece covering the majority of the heel with an elastic band overlay. The shoe does not have a separate tongue. It features a square textile label with the phrase Sync footwear. The shoe has a foxing or foxing-like band that completely encircles the perimeter of the shoe and overlaps the upper by at least ¼ of an inch. You provided a value of over $6.50 but not over $12/pair.
Item# 16008A is made in the same manner as Item# I6008AA, with the exception of the outer sole. In this case the majority of external surface area of the rubber sole is covered by textile material. The textile external surface is the material that touches the ground. You state that the textile covers 70 percent of the sole.
Item#I6014AA is a boy’s closed-toe, closed-heel, below-the-ankle, athletic shoe. The upper is made from textile material, and decorated with irregularly shaped PVC pieces. You provided the component breakdown of the upper as 55 percent PVC, and 45 percent textile. The irregular shaped decorative PVC pieces affixed to the vamp, lateral side, medial side, and part of the heel, which are not lasted under the sole, and do not provide structural strength to an otherwise complete textile upper, are considered accessories or reinforcements, and are not included in the external surface area measurement of the upper. It features a separately attached padded tongue that is lasted on the sides by means of an elastic band, non-functional laces, and a functional single hook and loop closure at the instep. There is a rubber or plastic piece on the heel. The word Sync appears on the rubber or plastic piece, and on the square label attached to the upper portion of the tongue. The outer sole is made from rubber/plastics. One side of the shoe has an interior slit with a USB port unit inside of it. The shoe also features an internal mechanism that allows lateral side, and part of the medial side of the outer sole to light up. It has a foxing or foxing-like band that completely encircles the perimeter of the shoe and overlaps the upper by at least ¼ of an inch. You provided a value of over $6.50 but not over $12/pair.
The applicable subheading for Item# I6006AA, and Item# I6006A will be 6402.99.8005 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for provides footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics: other footwear: other: other: not having uppers of which over 90 percent of the external surface area (including any accessories or reinforcements) is rubber or plastics; footwear not designed to be worn over, or in lieu of, other footwear as a protection against water, oil, grease or chemicals, or cold or inclement weather; valued over $6.50 but not over $12/pair: tennis shoes, basketball shoes, gym shoes, training shoes
and the like. The rate of duty will be 90 cents/pr. + 20% ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for Item# I6008AA will be 6404.19.8990, HTSUS, which provides for footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textile materials: footwear with outer soles of rubber or plastics: which is not “sports footwear;” which is not “protective” or slip-on footwear; which has a foxing or a foxing-like band; which is valued over $6.50 but not over $12/pair; other: other. The rate of duty is 90 cents/pr + 20 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for Item# I6008A will be 6404.19.8790, HTSUS, which provides for provides for outer soles of rubber/plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textile materials: other: other: valued over $6.50 but not over $12/pair: with uppers of textile material other than vegetable fibers and having outer soles with textile materials having the greatest surface area in contact with the ground, but not taken into account under the terms of additional U.S. note 5 to this chapter…other: other. The rate of duty will be 12.5 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for Item# I6014AA will be 6404.11.8990, HTSUS, which provides for footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textile materials: footwear with outer soles of rubber or plastics: tennis shoes, basketball shoes gym shoes, training shoes and the like: other: valued over $6.50 but not over $12 per pair: other: other. The rate of duty will be 90 cents/pr. + 20 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 https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
The submitted samples are not marked with the country of origin. Therefore, if imported as is, they 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.”
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 [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division