CLA-2-04:S:N:N1:229
Mr. Moez Ghermezian
Silk Road Importers Inc.
116 East 16 Street
New York, NY 10003
RE: The tariff classification of "Riches monts" brand WHITE
cheese, Domiati type, from France.
Dear Mr. Ghermezian:
In your letter dated May 2, 1990, you requested a tariff
classification ruling.
This product is described as "Riches monts" brand WHITE cheese,
Domiati type with Egyptian flavor. Ingredients in the product are
listed as pasteurized milk, cultured milk, calf rennet, capsicum, and
salt. This cheese is made from cow's milk and is said to contain, by
weight, butterfat of 16 to 18 percent (40 percent minimum in the dry
matter), and 3.4 to 3.6 percent salt. A sample cheese, semi-soft and
white in color, had a somewhat sour taste and a smooth textured
interior with few mechanical openings. This sample, packed with liquid
in a plastic container with a net weight of 500 grams (about 17.5
ounces), was found by the Customs Laboratory to contain, by weight,
moisture (56.6 percent), butterfat (20.8 percent), butterfat in the dry
matter (47.8 percent), and protein (15.5 percent). The cheese had a pH
of 4.4.
The applicable subheading for "Riches monts" brand WHITE cheese,
Domiati type with Egyptian flavor, will be 0406.90.8060, Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for Other
cheese and curd, not specially provided for, containing over 0.5
percent by weight of cow's milk. The rate of duty will be 10 percent
ad valorem.
Articles classifiable in HTS subheading 0406.90.8060 are subject
to quota quantity restrictions listed in subchapter IV of Chapter 99 in
HTS subheading 9904.10.54, which limits the amount of such cheese which
may be imported from the European Economic Community to an annual quota
quantity of 20,456,000 kilograms (of which 353,000 are reserved for
Portugal).. 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.
Questions regarding licensing procedures and applications for
license to import cheese subject to quota should be addressed to:
Head, Dairy and Import Group
Dairy, Livestock and Poultry Division
Foreign Agricultural Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, D.C. 20250
Importations of these products are subject to import regulations
administered by various U.S. agencies. Information regarding
applicable regulations administered by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Veterinary Services, may be addressed to that Agency at
the following location:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
A.P.H.I.S., Veterinary Services
Federal Building, Room 838
Hyattsville, MD 20782
Information regarding labeling requirements and other applicable
regulations administered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
may be addressed to that Agency at the following location:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Division of Regulatory Guidance
HFF 314, 200 C Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20204
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