Frozen Fruit Mixtures are Best Described as Food Preparations, Nature's Touch Argues

Mixes of frozen fruits should be classified under tariff provisions for food preparations, rather than in a subheading for "other" frozen fruits, because the latter provision is for frozen fruits other than the fruits listed in the relevant heading rather than complete fruit mixtures, importer Nature's Touch argued in a March 13 suplemental brief (Nature's Touch Frozen Foods (West). v. U.S., CIT # 20-00131).

The brief was in response to a February court order to the parties to address “whether the merchandise can or cannot be classified under 0811.90.80" as other frozen fruits. Nature's Touch agreed with the government that subheading 0811.90.80 only covers individual types of fruit and does not cover the merchandise at issue. None of the subheadings for individual fruit under heading 0811 describe the product completely, Nature's Touch said.

In some cases, the tariff schedule includes headings or subheadings for particular mixtures, but that is not the case for fruit mixtures, Nature's Touch said. Classification under GRI 3 as the government would prefer is not applicable because there is another more specific subheading that covers the products, that of 2106.90.98 for "other" food preparations, Nature's Touch said.

Provisions naming two or more articles are not “mixtures" provisions, so subheading 0811.90.80 for “other” frozen fruits covers individual frozen fruits not mentioned in other eight-digit subheadings, not the complete fruit mixtures at issue, Nature's Touch argued. "There is a single tariff subheading which describes the goods completely and which can be used to effect classification under GRI 1" before resorting to GRI 3, Nature's Touch said.

The government has argued that classification in "an entirely different heading" is inappropriate and not envisioned by the authors of the tariff schedule. Because the different components are classifiable in different provisions, the government has argued that finding the appropriate heading for the mixture requires an essential character analysis (see 2207190067).