HQ 0080947 - Classification of a hip-length policeman's jacket under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 080947

January 30, 1989

CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 080947 CMR

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: TSUS 6210.40.1020

Gail T. Cumins, Esq.
Sharretts, Paley, Carter & Blauvelt, P.C. Eighty Broad Street
New York, New York 10004

RE: Classification of a hip-length policeman's jacket under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA)

Dear Ms. Cumins,

This ruling is in response to your letter of July 29, 1987, on behalf of your client, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., requesting the classification of a hip-length jacket with a Gore- Tex interlining. The jacket will be sold as part of a police uniform.

FACTS:

The submitted sample is a hip-length jacket with a woven outer shell of 50 percent antron nylon and 50 percent rayon. The jacket has a woven inner lining of 100 percent nylon and an interlining of Gore-Tex fabric. (Gore-Tex fabrics are produced by the lamination of a textile fabric with a sheet of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) material, a plastic.) The garment also features a full-front zipper opening, a pile collar, pockets on the chest, above the waist, and inside the jacket, epaulets, and side zippers which extend nearly the entire length of the side seams. The jacket also has a nylon hood which is permanently attached to the back of the jacket and fits into the jacket between the interlining and the nylon inner lining when not in use.

ISSUE:

Is the submitted jacket classifiable under heading 6210, HTSUSA, which provides for garments made up of fabrics of heading 5903, or under heading 6201, HTSUSA, which provides for men's anoraks, windbreakers and similar articles?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The jacket at issue appears to fall under heading 6201, HTSUSA, since it is similar to men's anoraks or windbreakers and has a woven outershell.

The Gore-Tex interlining is classifiable in heading 5903, HTSUSA, by virtue of Note 2 to Chapter 59 which provides among other things that textile fabrics laminated with plastics, such as the interlining, fall under that heading.

Garments made up of fabrics of heading 5903, HTSUSA, are classifiable in heading 6210, HTSUSA. Section XI, Note 7, defines "made up" articles to include those . . . . (e) assembled by sewing, gumming or otherwise. Note 7 does not further define (e). In the General Explanatory Notes, part II, at page 714, it is noted that the expression "made up" articles, assembled by sewing, gumming or otherwise, includes garments. Without further express limitation to the term "made up", heading 6210 is interpreted to cover any assembled garment which includes a material classified within one of its enumerated headings and which imparts a significant characteristic to that garment.

The jacket at issue is classifiable under heading 6201, HTSUSA, by virtue of being an article similar to an anorak or windbreaker. It is also classifiable under heading 6210, HTSUSA, since it is made up of Gore-Tex fabric. Chapter 62, Note 5, states: "Garments which are, prima facie, classifiable both in heading 6210 and in other headings of this chapter, excluding heading 6209, are to be classified in heading 6210." Therefore, the instant jacket is classifiable in heading 6210, HTSUSA.

This result is confirmed in the Explanatory Notes to Chapter 62:

The classification of goods in this Chapter is not affected by the presence of parts or accessories of, for example, knitted or crocheted fabrics, furskin, feathers, leather, plastics or metal. Where, however, the presence of these materials constitutes more than mere trimming the articles are classified in accordance with the relative Chapter Notes . . ., or failing that, according to the General Interpreta- tive Rules.

In tariff terms, Gore-Tex fabrics are laminated fabrics, contemplated by the terms of Section XI and Chapter 62 to become a part of a finished garment. In commercial terms, it is our understanding that Gore-Tex is an expensive fabric to produce, and is bought by consumers who seek garments with the dual abilities of shedding rain and wicking perspiration away from the body. Based on these unique attributes, Customs believes that

Gore-Tex is more than a mere trimming or lining. Thus, the Explanatory Note language above directs us back to a considera- tion of the Chapter Notes, and application of Note 5.

HOLDING:

The submitted jacket is classifiable under the provision for garments made up of fabrics of heading 5903, other men's or boys' garments, of man-made fibers, subheading 6210.40.1020, HTSUSA, textile category 634, dutiable at 7.6 percent ad valorem.

Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation (the ninth and tenth digits of the classification) and the restraint (quota/visa) categories, you should contact your local Customs office prior to importation of this merchandise to determine the current status of any import restraints or requirements.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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