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NY F85581




April 4, 2000

CLA-2-64:RR:NC:TA:347 F85581

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO. 6403.99.60, 6403.99.90

Mr. John Pellegrini
Ross & Hardies
65 East 55th Street
New York, NY 10022-5555

RE: The tariff classification of footwear made in China.

Dear Mr. Pellegrini:

In your letter dated April 14, 2000 you requested a classification ruling on behalf of your client HYI for four styles of leather sandals.

You describe the samples as men’s leather sandals. You state that the subject footwear has uppers of leather and textile with leather being the predominant material. The outsoles are rubber/plastic. The footwear is identified by HYI style numbers and names, M91139 (“Crick”), M91137 (“Nantucket”), M91178 (“Bullhead”) and M91279 (“Bjork”). As you note the style numbers in the samples are different from the HYI style numbers although the model names are the same. According to your letter, the subject footwear will be imported by HYI as part of “Earth Shoe” sandals for sale to a national retailer. All of the sandals imported by HYI for this program are male gender. The retailer sells a complete line of these sandals, including women’s sandals. Until recently, HYI supplied sandals of both genders to the retailer. At present, however, HYI supplies only male gender sandals. The female gender in the “Earth Shoe” line is being supplied by a competitor of HYI.

You have submitted three samples of ladies sandals sold by HYI’s customer, which you state were purchased at one of the customer’s stores earlier this month. These samples, you state, are provided to establish that HYI’s customer sells women’s sandals which are similar to those imported by HYI for sale to the customer. The submitted ladies sandals are “Faded Glory” (Palm), made in Brazil, “Dr. Scholl’s” (Dynastep), made in China and “Earth Shoe” (Rocktrail 2) made in China. While it may be factual that the “Earth Shoe” line offers women’s styles comparable to men’s styles Crick, Nantucket, Bullhead and Bjork, your submission of various other name brand sandals does little to establish that women have “Earth Shoe” alternative styles to choose from. There is little question that the marketplace offers this class of women’s leather sandals, the issue is whether the marketplace offers “Earth Shoe’ styles for women in numbers comparable to the numbers available for men. It is customs position that in situations where an androgynous shoe is presented as “male”, a corresponding “female” shoe must be presented. In cases where no female alternative is presented, the smaller sizes (up to and including U.S. men’s size 8) are considered “to be worn by both sexes” and deemed “unisex” for tariff purposes. . The particular styles that you identify as “men’s” are the type of footwear that is commonly worn by both sexes.

The applicable subheading for “Earth Shoe” models M91139 (Crick), M91137 (Nantucket), M91178 (Bullhead) and M91279 (Bjork) in sizes up to and including U.S. men’s size 8 will be 6403.99.90, Harmonized tariff schedule of the United States, (HTS) which provides for footwear with outer soles of rubber or plastics and uppers of predominantly leather, other than sports footwear, not covering the ankle, for other persons. The rate of duty will be 10 percent ad valorem.

The applicable subheading for “Earth Shoe” models M91139 (Crick), M91137 (Nantucket), M91178 (Bullhead) and M91279 (Bjork) in sizes larger than U.S. men’s size 8 will be 6403.99.60, (HTS) which provides for footwear with outer soles of rubber or plastics and uppers of predominantly leather, other than sports footwear, not covering the ankle, for men, youths and boys. The rate of duty will be 8.5 percent ad valorem.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter 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 this ruling, contact National Import Specialist, Richard Foley at (212) 637-7089.

Sincerely,

Robert Swierupski
Director,

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