CLA-2-71:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Alina Vornicu
Cousin Corporation of America
12333 Enterprise Boulevard
Largo, FL 33773
RE: The tariff classification of a jewelry finding from China.
Dear Ms. Vornicu:
In your letter dated August 31, 2014 and received in this office on September 10, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling. As requested, the sample submitted will be returned to you.
Article 34770299 is the “Cousin®, Jewelry Basics®, Connector.” The article consists of a round base metal, zinc plate, with a glass dome cover, and has a printed design underneath the glass depicting two birds perched amid flowers. The bird and flower design is printed on paper affixed to a base metal plate. The diameter of the connector is approximately 1.5 inches. Company provided information indicates that the weight of the glass dome is greater than the weight of the zinc plate and that the cost of the zinc plate is greater than the cost of the glass dome.
Legal Note 11 in conjunction with Legal Note 9 (a) to Chapter 71 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) provides in pertinent part, that the expression “imitation jewelry” means any small articles of personal adornment for example rings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, earrings, pendants, pins, and the like – not incorporating precious metal or metal clad with precious metal, except as minor constituents. Neither the Legal Notes to Chapter 71 of the HTSUS, nor the Explanatory Notes (ENs) to Chapter 71 of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, provide a meaning for the word “pendant.”
When terms are not defined in the HTSUS or the ENs to the HTSUS, they are construed in accordance with their common and commercial meaning – Nippon Kogasku (USA), Inc. v. United States, 69 CCPA 89, 673 F.2d 380 (1982). Common and commercial meaning may be determined by consulting dictionaries, lexicons, scientific authorities and other reliable sources. C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 69 CCPA 128, 673 F.2d 1268 (1982). According to the Online Oxford English Dictionary, at 3 (a), a “pendant” means: A jewel, bead, tassel, or the like, attached loosely to clothing, etc., so as to hang down as an ornament; an ornamental fringe (obs.); (now) esp. a loosely hanging piece of jewellery worn on a chain around the neck; a necklace with such a piece of jewellery attached.
Further, we need to define the term “jewelry findings” as the HTSUS and the ENs are silent as to its meaning. The Guyot Brothers Company, Inc. (GBC), online ‘Jewelry Findings Glossary of Terms’ provides: [Findings] the tools and materials used by an artisan; [Jewelry Findings] the component parts or materials used in making a piece of jewelry; [Functional Jewelry Findings] the component parts or materials used in making a piece of jewelry that serve a mechanical function such as attaching, joining, linking – examples of functional jewelry findings include pin backs, catches, posts, omega clips, and screw backs; [Decorative Jewelry Findings] the component parts or materials used in making jewelry that provides the beauty of the piece, such as charms, filigrees and festoons; [Hybrid Jewelry Findings] the component parts or materials used in making a piece of jewelry that serve a mechanical function such as attaching, joining, linking, but due to their nature lend themselves to becoming decorative findings as well – examples of hybrid jewelry findings include beaded caps, bracelet links, and locket bails.
It is a long standing Customs (CBP) practice that merchandise is classified in its condition as imported. By examination of the merchandise concerned, we find that the connector is akin to a pendant that can hang down vertically and horizontally from a cord, string or chain, thereby providing the decorative ornamentation to necklaces and bracelets. Also, the merchandise concerned is both a decorative jewelry finding and a hybrid jewelry finding as defined by the GBC, Jewelry Findings Glossary of Terms, in that the connector with bird and flower design provides the jewelry piece with its ornamentation, while also allowing for the connecting together of other jewelry findings for purposes of creating more elaborate pieces of jewelry. Accordingly, we find that the connector is of the class or kind of good to fall within the meaning of pendants, and therefore the article is classifiable in the imitation jewelry provision of heading 7117, HTSUS.
The merchandise concerned is composed of different components (i.e., metal, glass and paper), and is considered a composite good. The ENs to the HTSUS, at GRI 3 (b) (VIII), state that “the factor which determines essential character will vary between different kinds of goods. It may for example, be determined by the nature of the materials or components, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.” When the essential character of a composite good can be determined, the whole product is classified as if it consisted only of the material or component that imparts the essential character to the composite good.
In this instance, we are of the opinion that the base metal plate imparts the essential character to the good, in that the plate provides the structure onto which a cord, string or chain can be attached, thereby creating a pendant necklace; does not need the glass dome to function as a decorative pendant; and allows other jewelry findings to be connected thus creating more complex jewelry pieces. Additionally, we note that the cost of the metal plate is greater than that of the cost of the glass dome. As such, the merchandise concerned is classified under the subheading for imitation jewelry of base metal.
The applicable subheading for the connector with bird and flower design, being a type of pendant, will be 7117.19.9000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Imitation jewelry: Of base metal, whether or not plated with precious metal: Other: Other: Other.” The rate of duty will be 11% 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 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 Neil H. Levy at E-mail address: [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division