CLA-2-63:RR:NC:N3:351 R02895

Don Yale
Dayton Bag and Burlap Co.
322 Davis Avenue
Dayton, OH 45401

RE: The tariff classification of rot-resistant articles and fabric from India or China

Dear Mr. Yale:

In your letter dated November 28, 2005, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

In your letter and a subsequent telephone conversation, you describe the products as woven jute burlap fabric (sometimes called Hessian fabric) and articles made from this burlap, all treated with a pesticide to make them rot-resistant. The fabric will be imported in continuous rolls as well as in the following forms: cut squares with raw edges (no hems), 20”, 24”, and 70”; assembled squares, made by sewing together two pieces, 80” to 120”; cone-shaped stitched “socks”; side seam liners, which are fabric with one hemmed side, in various sizes (ranging from 18” x 135” to 135” x 135”) in bales of 500, 1000, 1800, and 2000.

All of these products are used in the wholesale horticulture industry during harvesting, shipping, and transplanting. The pesticide-treated items are wrapped around the root ball of a tree or shrubbery to keep the soil and roots intact. You have stated that the active ingredient, copper ammonium carbonate, is used in this case to treat the fabric and articles; the treated items are not themselves acting as a fungicide, etc., in a general application.

You indicate that your freight forwarder believes the applicable subheading for these items is 3808.20.1500, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for "[I]nsecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, antisprouting products and plant-growth regulators, disinfectants and similar products, put up in forms or packings for retail sale or as preparations or articles (for example, sulfur-treated bands, wicks and candles, and flypapers): Fungicides: Containing any aromatic or modified aromatic fungicide: Other."

However, because the treated items are not themselves acting as a fungicide in a general application, that provision would be incorrect. You have asked if the pesticide affects the classification of the merchandise. In this case, it does not.

The applicable subheading for the rot-resistant assembled squares, socks, and side seam liners will be 6307.90.9889, HTS, which provides for other made up textile articles, other. The rate of duty will be 7 percent ad valorem.

The applicable subheading for the rot-resistant fabric in rolls and the unhemmed squares (we assume the squares and fabric to be unbleached) will be as follows, depending on the width of the square or fabric roll: 5310.10.0020, HTS, which provides for woven fabrics of jute or of other textile bast fibers of heading 5303, unbleached, not over 130 centimeters in width; 5310.10.0040, over 130 cm but not over 250 cm in width; and 5310.10.0060, over 250 cm. The rate of duty for all of the above is Free.

Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUSA 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 Mitchel Bayer at 646-733-3102.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division