Recent CBP NY Rulings
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
N339640: The tariff classification of a Halloween decoration from China
| HTS: 9505.90.6000, free, “Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including magic tricks and practical joke articles; parts and accessories thereof: Other: Other.” |
| Item: A spider web patterned table runner. The item is a man-made woven textile fabric cutout representation of a series of five spider webs, horizontally connected to each other including images of spiders scattered within the webs. The item measures approximately 59” in length by 15.35” in width. This flimsy textile fabric decoration could be used to temporarily decorate the home and help create a scary atmosphere. This item will be marketed and sold as part of the “Spooky Village” collection exclusively for Halloween. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 30, 2024 |
N339689: The tariff classification of footwear from Myanmar
| HTS: 6404.11.9020, 20%, "footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textile materials: tennis shoes, basketball shoes, gym shoes, training shoes and the like: other: valued over $12/pair: for men: other." |
| Item: A man's, below-the-ankle, closed toe/closed heel shoe. The shoe has a separately attached tongue, a lace closure, a cushioned footbed, and a padded collar. The flexible rubber outsole overlaps the upper by the requisite 1/4 of an inch, thereby constituting a foxing-like band. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 1, 2024 |
N339643: The tariff classification of a Halloween decoration from China
| HTS: 9505.90.6000, free, "Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including magic tricks and practical joke articles; parts and accessories thereof: Other: Other." |
| Item: A decorative ceramic jack-o’-lantern which consists of a white dolomite ceramic jack-o’-lantern with a black interior. The item features large cutout eyes, nose, and a smiling mouth. The 7.6” tall jack-o’-lantern includes a wire handle. There is no receptacle for a light or candle and the large cutouts preclude it from holding anything. This item will be marketed and sold exclusively as a decoration for Halloween in the “Spooky Village” collection. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 1, 2024 |
N339563: The tariff classification of a whiskey smoker from Italy
| HTS: 7321.89.0050, free, “Stoves, ranges, grates, cookers (including those with subsidiary boilers for central heating), barbecues, braziers, gas rings, plate warmers and similar nonelectric domestic appliances, and parts thereof, of iron or steel: Other, including appliances for solid fuel: Other” |
| Item: The whiskey smoker consists of a beech wood mushroom-like hollow base, a beech wood lid and a stainless steel rimmed mesh encased in the middle of the base. The stainless steel mesh is where the user places wood chips and then lights the wood chips on fire. The holes at the bottom of the base allows the smoke created by the burning wood chips to create a natural smokey flavor to the liquid in the container below it. |
| Reason: The essential character of this steel/wood article is imparted by the stainless steel, the component which provides the function of the product. |
| Ruling Date: May 1, 2024 |
N339501: The tariff classification of footwear from Vietnam
| HTS: (1) 6404.11.9020, 20%, "Footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textile materials: tennis shoes, basketball shoes, gym shoes, training shoes and the like: other: valued over $12/pair: for men: other." (2) 6404.11.9050, 20%, "Footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textile materials: tennis shoes, basketball shoes, gym shoes, training shoes and the like: other: valued over $12/pair: for women: other." |
| Item: A closed toe/closed heel, below-the-ankle, woman’s, athletic style shoe. The external surface area of the upper consists predominantly of textile materials with a rubber/plastic overlay in front of the toes and reinforcing the eye stays. The footwear has a separately attached tongue and an elastic cord lace with cinch closure. It has a padded collar and a cushioned insole. The outer sole unit comprises a rubber/plastic cushion midsole and a Vibram outer sole for traction. The separately submitted outer sole unit was measured. It would overlap the upper material by at least 1.4 inch, constituting a foxing-like band. This style will be offered for retail sale in (1) men’s and (2) women’s sizes. The F.O.B. value is over $12.00 per pair. |
| Reason: The footwear has all the characteristics associated with athletic footwear. |
| Ruling Date: May 1, 2024 |
N339413: The classification of an AirPod case and a coin purse from Cambodia
| HTS: (1) 4202.92.6091, 6.3%, "for other bags and containers, with outer surface of sheeting of plastics or of textile materials, of cotton, other." (2) 4202.32.1000, 12.1¢/kg + 4.6%, “for articles of a kind normally carried in the pocket or the handbag, with outer surface of sheeting of plastic or of textile materials, with outer surface of sheeting of plastics, of reinforced or laminated plastics.” |
| Item: (1) An Airpod case constructed of 100% cotton textile material with a removable metal hook. It features one main compartment and a top zippered closure. The article is designed to contain one set of earbuds. It provides storage, protection, probability and storage to the earbuds. (2) A heart shaped coin purse constructed with an outer surface of 100% polyurethane (PU) plastic sheeting that is reinforced with a textile material. It features one main compartment and a top zippered closure. The article has one permanently attached round metal ring on the side. The coin purse is designed to provide protection, portability, storage, and organization to coins and other small articles. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 1, 2024 |
N339255: The tariff classification of a backpack from China
| HTS: 4202.92.3120, 9903.88.03, 17.6% + 25%, "travel, sports, and similar bags, with outer surface of textile materials, of man-made fibers, backpacks." |
| Item: A backpack. It is constructed with an outer surface of 100 percent polyester, which is a man-made textile material. It is designed to provide storage, protection, organization, and portability to personal effects during travel. The interior has one zippered pocket, one open pocket, and several slot pockets. The front exterior features one zippered pocket on the right side. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Date: May 1, 2024 |
N335001: Classification and country of origin determination for tire cord; 19 CFR 102.21(c)(2); tariff shift
| HTS: 5902.10.0000, 5.8%, “Tire cord fabric of high tenacity yarn of nylon or other polyamides, polyesters or viscose rayon: Of nylon or other polyamides.” |
| Country of Origin: Poland |
| Item: The polyamide/nylon twisted yarn (cord) originated in China and is shipped to Poland to be manufactured into fabric. The two-step fabric-making process includes weaving and dipping in resorcinol-formaldehyde-latex (RFL) to create the tire cord fabric. The nylon warp yarn is woven into greige fabric with the weft yarn being of low tenacity cotton from Greece. The final step is the dipping of the greige fabric into the RFL. The principal use of this fabric in the U.S. is for tire reinforcement. |
| Reason: (HTS) The tire cord fabric meets the criteria to be considered of high tenacity yarn. (Country of Origin) The change to subheading 5902.10 is the result of a fabric making process. Thus, the merchandise complies with the requisite tariff shift rule for heading 5902. |
| Ruling Date: May 1, 2024 |
N333559: Classification and country of origin determination for tire cord; 19 CFR 102.21(c)(2); tariff shift
| HTS: 5902.10.0000, 5.8%, “Tire cord fabric of high tenacity yarn of nylon or other polyamides, polyesters or viscose rayon: Of nylon or other polyamides.” |
| Country of Origin: Poland |
| Item: The polyamide/nylon yarn originated in China and is shipped to Poland to be manufactured into fabric. The three-step fabric-making process includes twisting, weaving, and dipping in resorcinol-formaldehyde-latex (RFL) to create the tire cord fabric. The principal use of this fabric in the U.S. is for tire reinforcement. |
| Reason: (HTS) The tire cord fabric meets the criteria to be considered of high tenacity yarn. (Country of Origin) The fabric is woven in Poland from polyamide and nylon yarn produced in China, which confers a tariff shift to heading 5902. Hence, because the change to subheading 5902.10 is a result of a fabric making process, the merchandise complies with the requisite tariff shift rule for heading 5902. |
| Ruling Date: May 1, 2024 |
N339746: The tariff classification of Canine Skin Tissue from Australia
| HTS: 0511.99.4070, 1.1%, “Animal products not elsewhere specified or included; dead animals of chapter 1 or 3, unfit for human consumption: Other: Other: Other…Other.” |
| Item: Canine Skin Tissue. The tissue samples preserved in ethanol are derived from domestic dog skin (Canine lupus familiaris) and shipped frozen to the United States for analysis and subsequent destruction. The canine skin tissue samples are collected for veterinary therapeutic research studies from healthy animals, contain no infectious agents or active pharmaceutical ingredients, are not for use in humans, and have no other animal derived materials. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 2, 2024 |