CLA-2-33:OT:RR:NC:N2:240
Ms. Akvile Petkevicius
Arganomics LLC
33 Clinton Road, Suite 100
West Caldwell, NJ 07006
RE: The tariff classification of Oarganic Lip Balm, Oarganic Body Butter, and Oarganic Argan Oil from Morocco
Dear Ms. Petkevicius:
In your letter dated July 18, 2012, you requested a tariff classification ruling of Oarganic Lip Balm, Oarganic Body Butter, and Oarganic Argan Oil.
The Oarganic Lip Balm contains Oargania Spinosa Kernel (Argan) oil, natural beeswax, and one to two drops of essential oil. The lip balm, sold in retail packages consisting of .15 oz plastic swivel tubes, is a lip preparation used to condition and moisturize the lips.
The Oarganic Body Butter contains Oargania Spinosa Kernel (Argan) oil, natural beeswax, and one to two drops of essential oil. The body butter, packaged in retail glass jars, is used to condition and moisturize the skin.
The Oarganic Argan Oil contains 100% Oargania Spinosa Kernel (Argan) oil. The Oarganic Argan Oil, sold in retail packaging consisting of 1 oz. glass bottles, is a multi-use product used to condition and moisturize the face, body, nails, and hair.
The applicable subheading for the Oarganic Lip Balm will be 3304.10.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Beauty or make-up preparations and preparations for the care of the skin (other than medicaments), including sunscreen or sun tan preparations; manicure of pedicure preparations: Lip make-up preparations. The rate of duty will be free.
The applicable subheading for the Oarganic Body Butter will be 3304.99.5000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Beauty or make-up preparations and preparations for the care of the skin (other than medicaments), including sunscreen or sun tan preparations; manicure or pedicure preparations: Other: Other: Other. The rate of duty will be free.
The applicable subheading for the Oarganic Argan Oil will be 3305.99.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Preparations for use on the hair: Other. The rate of duty will be free.
Perfumery, cosmetic, and toiletry products are subject to the requirements of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA), which are administered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Questions regarding FDA requirements may be addressed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Cosmetics and Colors, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-3835, telephone number 888-463-6332, or by visiting their website at: www.fda.gov.
The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, 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 its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article.
As provided in section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), the country of origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. “Imported from Morocco” was indicted in your literature as the country of origin marking. The term “Imported From” is confusing and misleading because an indication of actual origin is not clearly given. In this regard, an ultimate purchaser may be confused when inspecting such products because, for country of origin marking purposes, an item is not necessarily a product of the country from where it is imported. CBP has held that marking an imported item with “Made in”, “Product of”, or with the country of origin alone (for example, “Morocco”) is acceptable for country of origin marking purposes.
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 Stephanie Joseph (646) 733-3268.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division