CLA-2-48:OT:RR:NC:N2:234
Ms. Maristella Iacobello
Phillips Van Heusen Corporation
200 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
RE: The tariff classification of various bellybands for ties from Hong Kong and China
Dear Ms. Iacobello:
In your letter dated December 15, 2008 you requested a tariff classification ruling. The samples which you submitted are being returned.
Samples identified as "bellybands" were submitted and will be retained for reference. They are made of paper, rubber/plastic and woven fabric printed/embroidered on one side with the brand name and logo of a line of neckties. The bellybands are identified as A, B and C. A is made of paper or cardboard and identify the brand name ARROW along with its logo and the words “USA . 1851” printed on it. B is made of rubber/plastic and has the brand name BCBG and the marking “// ATTITUDE” printed on it in raised lettering. C is made of woven fabric and has the brand name Calvin Klein and the word “slim” embroidered on it.
The applicable subheading for the bellyband of paper if printed in whole or in part by a lithographic process, will be 4821.10.2000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for paper and paperboard labels printed by such process. The rate of duty will be Free.
If none of the printing is lithographic, the applicable subheading will be 4821.10.4000, HTSUS, which provides for other printed paper and paperboard labels. The rate of duty will be Free.
Customs has previously held that labels imported in properly marked containers, and sold only to parties who will apply them to their own goods, may be excepted from individual marking pursuant to 19 CFR 134.32(d). That is, the importer of the labels is considered the ultimate purchaser of same, the last to receive them in the form in which they were imported. The labels are subsequently deemed to have lost their own identity, in effect having become integral parts of the goods to which they were attached. Accordingly, the bellybands, when imported in properly marked containers under the outlined circumstances, will not be required to be individually marked with their own country of origin. Please note, however, that this in no way absolves your company from ensuring that the neckties themselves, if made outside the United States, be properly marked with their country of origin. Since their ultimate purchasers will be retail consumers, the ties will of course be subject to normal, individual marking requirements.
Your inquiry does not provide enough information for us to give a classification ruling on the bellybands made of rubber/plastic or woven fabric. Although you describe item B as a bellyband made of rubber/plastic adhered to cardboard backing, the sample submitted with your request is not combined with cardboard or any other material, and appears to be made of plastics, not rubber. Please clarify. If the bellyband will be imported combined with cardboard, provide a sample of the product in the condition as imported. Confirm whether the component material is plastics or rubber. This office cannot classify any product said to be made of rubber without sufficient details about the composition of the material to determine whether it meets the tariff definition of synthetic rubber in Note 4(a) of Chapter 40, HTSUS. The note describes synthetic rubber as "unsaturated synthetic substances which can be irreversibly transformed by vulcanization with sulfur into non-thermoplastic substances which, at a temperature between 18 and 29 degrees C, will not break on being extended to three times their original length, and will return, after being extended to twice their original length, within a period of 5 minutes, to a length not greater than 1 1/2 times their original length."
Sometimes the name of the material or a breakdown by weight of the components is sufficient for us to make this determination. If the material is said to be rubber, provide the precise name of the type of rubber, e.g., styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM), neoprene and a breakdown by weight of each monomer. If the information is not sufficient, then this office needs twelve cross-linked dumbbell-shaped specimens for testing and verification. For purposes of this test, substances necessary for the cross-linking, such as vulcanizing activators or accelerators, may be added; the presence of substances as provided for by Chapter 40 note 5(b)(ii) and (iii) is also permitted. However, the presence of any substances not necessary for the cross-linking, such as extenders, plasticizers and fillers, is not permitted. If testing is required, samples prepared as described above must be submitted, accompanied by the compounding recipe and the percent by weight of all ingredients.
Your request for a classification should also include a complete description that explains in detail how the lettering is formed on the rubber/plastic bellyband. Also, explain whether the bellyband performs any function other than acting as a label.
If you have questions about the information needed to determine the classification of goods said to be made of rubber, please contact National Import Specialist Joan Mazzola at 646-733-3023.
Item C is described as a bellyband made of woven fabric adhered to cardboard backing but it doesn’t give a component breakdown of the woven fabric. Please submit the actual make up of textile fibers that compose the fabric of the bellyband and if it will have any other function than to act as a brand label on the tie.
If you have any questions about the information needed to determine the classification of goods made of woven fabric, please contact National Import Specialist Mitchel Bayer at 646-733-3102.
When the information is available, you may wish to consider resubmission of your request. We are returning any related samples, exhibits, etc. If you decide to resubmit your request, please include all of the material that we have returned to you.
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 Patricia Wilson at (646) 733-3037.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division