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HQ 966227




April 22, 2003

CLA-2 RR:CR:TE 966227 TMF

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6211.42.0081

Dana L. Bounds
UPS Supply Chain Solutions
1600 Genessee, Suite 450
Kansas City, Missouri 64102

RE: Reconsideration of NY J80206; woven cotton aprons

Dear Ms. Bounds:

This is in response to your request dated January 30, 2003, for reconsideration of a ruling. Customs issued New York Ruling Letter (NY) J80206, dated January 24, 2003, to you on behalf of your client, Midwest Quality Glove, regarding the classification of certain aprons sized for children. Customs classified the articles in subheading 6211.42.0081, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides for ...other garments...girls'...of cotton, other. Upon review, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has determined that this merchandise was correctly classified.

FACTS:

The "Kids Pouch Apron", designated as styles 38K, 38KS, and 38KHF, are manufactured from woven 100 percent cotton fabric in China. The subject merchandise is designed to be worn across the lower half of the torso by means of fabric ties that fasten around the waist. An open pocket is located on each side of the front. The label on the subject aprons states: "Kids don't need pouches if they have our 100% cotton pouch apron."

The subject merchandise covers the front of the body from the waist to just above the knees (of a size 3T mannequin). Each apron measures 9 3/8 inches in length and 11 1/2 inches in width.

ISSUE:

What is the classification of the subject aprons within the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA)?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. When goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1 and if the headings or notes do not require otherwise, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may be applied.

Additionally, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) are the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).

Heading 6211, HTSUSA, provides for Track suits, ski-suits and swimwear; other garments. The EN to heading 6211 state that the EN to heading 6114 (which covers other knitted or crocheted garments), apply, mutatis mutandis, to the articles of heading 6211. We therefore conclude that the "other garments" of heading 6211 include "woven" garments. The applicable EN to heading 6114, states, in part, as follows:

The heading includes, inter alia:

(1) Aprons, boiler suits (coveralls), smocks and other protective clothing of a kind worn by mechanics, factory workers, surgeons, etc.

An apron is defined as "a garment usually of cloth, plastic, or leather usually tied around the waist and used to protect clothing or adorn a costume." See Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition (1999).

CBP has issued rulings which classified aprons. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 961969 dated October 25, 1999 citing to HQ 959540, dated April 7, 1997; HQ 961184, dated August 7, 1998; HQ 961736, dated November 30, 1998; HQ 961737, dated December 8, 1998; and HQ 961826, dated February 12, 1999.

In accordance with the EN to heading 6114, HTSUSA, CBP classifies garments worn for protective purposes, such as aprons, as wearing apparel in heading 6211, HTSUSA, so long as they provide sufficient coverage to protect the wearer from dirt, stains, water, injury, etc. Id.; see also NY H87410, dated February 25, 2002 (classifying a woven cotton apron which covered the torso in heading 6211, HTSUSA); NY 884998, dated April 28, 1993 (classifying a woven nylon fabric apron which covered the front of the torso in heading 6211, HTSUSA).

Bib aprons have consistently been classified under heading 6211, HTSUSA, due to the fact that the aprons provide coverage from the neck or mid-chest to the knee area. Id.; see also NY H87410, dated February 25, 2002; NY H81763, dated June 8, 2001.

Short half aprons which are designed to merely carry items and not to provide protection to a wearer have been classified in the residual provision for other made up textile articles, subheading 6307.90.9989, HTSUSA. Id.; see also NY C83749, dated February 20, 1998 (classifying a small garden apron with pouch pockets in heading 6307, HTSUSA); NY 851146, dated May 2, 1990 (classifying an "Isis garden belt" with open pockets in heading 6307, HTSUSA); and NY H87411, issued to you and dated February 13, 2002 (classifying a twill fabric garden waist apron with three open pockets in heading 6307, HTSUSA).

In the instant case, the subject merchandise is a waist apron designed to be used by children. Although the sample fits a size 3T mannequin, we do not have any indication whether the goods are manufactured for a particular gender. Where goods cannot be identified for a particular gender, they should be classified in provisions covering women's or girls' garments. See HQ 961737, dated December 8, 1998 (classifying a protective textile apron in subheading 6211.43.0081, HTSUSA).

Although you contend that the subject aprons are similar to the apron of NY H87411, dated February 13, 2002, in which a twill fabric panel apron was classified in subheading 6307.90.9889, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles...Other", we disagree. The apron of NY H87411 was not designed for children nor to protect the garments of the user. However, the subject merchandise would cover the front of the body (of a child sized 3T) from the waist to above the knees. This type of coverage (from waist to above the knee) on an adult would be sufficient protective coverage to classify the item as an apron of heading 6211, HTSUSA. Therefore, we find the subject apron has sufficient protective coverage for a child to permit classification in heading 6211, HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

NY J80206, dated January 24, 2003, is hereby affirmed.

The three styles of woven cotton aprons, designated as styles 38K, 38KS, and 38KHF, are classified in subheading 6211.42.0081, HTSUSA, textile category 359, which provides for "...Other garments...girls'...Of cotton, Other." The general column one duty rate is 8.2 percent ad valorem. There are no applicable quota/visa requirement for the products of World Trade Organization ("WTO") members. The textile category number above applies to merchandise produced in non-WTO countries.

The designated textile and apparel category may be subdivided into parts. If so, the visa and quota requirements applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected. Since part categories are the result of international bilateral agreements which are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes, to obtain the most current information available, we suggest your client check, close to the time of shipment, the Textile Status Report for Absolute Quotas, previously available on the Customs Electronic Bulletin Board (CEBB), which is now available on the CPB website at www.customs.gov.

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

Sincerely,

Myles Harmon, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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