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NY F87042




May 22, 2000

CLA-2-64:RR:NC:TA:347 F87042

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6404.20.40

Mr. Roger J. Crain
CSS Customs Science Services, Inc.
10315 Kensington Parkway, Suite 211
Kensington, MD 20895-3321

RE: The tariff classification of footwear from China

Dear Mr. Crain:

In your letter dated May 11, 2000, on behalf of Impo International, Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling for a woman’s shoe, we presume, from China.

The submitted half pair sample, identified as “Night Life (Style No. 604020)”, is a woman’s open-toe, open-heel, slip-on fashion shoe. The shoe has a leather sole, a 2-1/2 inch high attached heel and an upper consisting of a single ½-inch wide strap that splits in half as it passes across the wearer’s forefoot near the toes. The external surface of this “strap” upper is composed of a loosely woven mesh fabric of, as you state, “woven or braided yarns” consisting of bundles of textile fibers that have been wrapped around with a silver colored plastic strip less than 1 millimeter in width. The silver plastic strip does not completely encase the bundled textile fibers but merely encloses them, so that together they form a single strand of a tightly wound, man-made textile fiber, which is woven to become the textile material mesh upper. The external surface of this mesh fabric upper has not been coated or covered externally with “rubber or plastics”, as per Chapter 64, Note 3(a). Therefore, we consider this shoe to be classifiable as footwear with an upper that has a predominately textile external surface.

You have provided a lab report analysis stating that the combined weight of the rubber, plastic and textile component parts present in this shoe amount to 36.4% of the total weight of the shoe. The remaining 63.6% of the weight is attributed to leather, paperboard and metal component parts. Classification of this item is based on the accuracy of these submitted component weight breakdown figures, and they will be subject to verification by Customs, at the time of actual importation at the ports of entry.

The applicable subheading for this shoe, identified as “Night Life (Style No. 604020)”, will be 6404.20.40, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for footwear, in which the upper’s external surface is predominately textile materials; in which the outer sole’s external surface is predominately leather or composition leather; which is, by weight, not over 50% as a total of textile material, rubber and plastics; and which is valued, we presume, over $2.50 per pair. The rate of duty will be 10% ad valorem.

We are returning the sample as you requested.

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 Richard Foley at 212-637-7089.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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