CLA-2-64:OT:RR:NC:N3:447
Mr. Peter Salvato
Import Commodity Group Ltd.
500 Merrick Road
Lynbrook, NY 11563
RE: The tariff classification of footwear from China
Dear Mr. Salvato:
In your letters dated December 8, 2014, and February 23, 2015, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client Tory Burch LLC.
The submitted sample identified as style # 51148403, “Lucia Lace Wedge” is a woman’s closed toe/open heel, wedge, espadrille shoe. The shoe features a leather and embroidered (polyester) vamp area and a cotton textile weave strap at the ankle. The leather strap in front of the ankle has a metal buckle closure on the lateral side. There is a textile (jute) wrap over the wood wedge, at the toe, and around the perimeter of the shoe. The independent laboratory report you provided shows the external surface of the outer sole is occupied mainly of rubber or plastics and the upper is predominantly textile. The breakdown of component weight provided states the rubber or plastics component(s) to be more than 10 percent of the total weight of the shoe. However, the breakdown does not include the weight of the wood wedge. Additionally, the surface area of the upper breakdown provided does not distinguish between vegetable and non-vegetable textile. This office assumes the total weight of the rubber/plastic components makes up less than 10 percent of the total weight of the shoe. Also the cotton textile appears to make up the majority of the surface area occupied by textile. Identity and surface area of this style may be verified upon importation. You provided an F.O.B. value of over $12 per pair.
The applicable subheading for the style # 51148403, “Lucia Lace Wedge” will be 6404.19.2560, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for footwear with outer soles of rubber/plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textile materials: footwear with outer soles of rubber or plastics: other: footwear with open toes or open heels: less than 10 percent by weight of rubber or plastics: with uppers of vegetable fibers: other: for women. The rate of duty will be 7.5 percent ad valorem.
Please note the submitted sample doesn’t meet the country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Accordingly, the footwear would be considered not legally marked under the provisions of 19 C.F.R. 134.11 which states, "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 container) will permit, in such manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article."
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 Stacey Kalkines at: [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division