CLA-2-04:S:N:N1:229
Mr. Leo J. Cunningham, President
Norseland Foods, Inc.
1290 East Main Street
Stamford, CT 06902
RE: The tariff classification of JARLSBERG LITE cheese from
Norway.
Dear Mr. Cunningham:
In your letter dated November 20, 1989, you requested a
tariff classification ruling.
JARLSBERG LITE is said to be a low sodium, low cholesterol
Swiss or Emmenthal type cheese, having a moisture content of
about 46 percent and a fat content of about 15 to 16 percent. A
sample of this cheese, submitted with your inquiry, consisted of
one carton containing two rectangular blocks of 11 pounds each,
net weight. The cheeses therein were pale yellow in color,
rindless, and exhibited the eye formation and nutty taste typical
of Swiss cheese. An analysis by the Customs Laboratory at New
York found that the sample submitted contained, by weight, 46
percent moisture, 17.4 percent fat (32.2 percent fat in the dry
matter), 32.8 percent protein, and 0.9 percent salt, with a pH of
5.3.
The applicable subheading for JARLSBERG LITE cheese will be
0406.90.4520, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTS), which provides for Other cheese:...Swiss or Emmentaler
cheese with eye formation, Gammelost and Nokkelost
cheeses...Swiss or Emmenthaler cheese. The rate of duty will be
6.4 percent ad valorem.
Articles classifiable in HTS subheading 0406.90.4520 are
subject to quota quantity restrictions listed in subchapter IV of
Chapter 99 in HTS subheading 9904.10.48, which limits the amount
of such cheese which may be imported from Norway to an annual
quota quantity of 6,883,000 kilograms. Additionally, an import
license, issued to the importer by the United States Department
of Agriculture, will be required at the time such merchandise is
entered for consumption into the United States.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section
177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry
documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the
documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be
brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the
transaction.
Sincerely,
Jean F. Maguire
Area Director
New York Seaport