CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087831 WAW
Mr. Rich Hefner
A.L. Fase & Co.
4849 N. Scott Street
Suite 116
Schiller Park, IL 60176
RE: Key Ring With Vinyl Tab
Dear Mr. Hefner:
This letter is in response to your inquiry, dated July 24,
1990, on behalf of your client, Schweizer Emblem Co., requesting
a tariff classification ruling for key rings with a vinyl
attachment under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States Annotated (HTSUSA). Your letter and a sample of the
merchandise has been forwarded to us by our New York office for a
classification ruling.
FACTS:
The sample article is described as a steel split key ring
with a non-utilitarian vinyl attachment. A Diet Pepsi logo will
be imprinted onto the vinyl portion of the key ring. It is
anticipated that approximately 45 million of these articles will
be imported into the United States from Taiwan.
You maintain that the subject article is properly
classified as other articles of iron or steel wire: Other, in
subheading 7326.20.0050, HTSUSA, and dutiable at a rate of 5.7
percent ad valorem. We concur with the classification of these
articles based on the reasons set forth below.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject merchandise is classifiable as an other
article of plastic in subheading 3926.90.9050, HTSUSA, or as an
other article of iron or steel wire in subheading 7326.20.0050,
HTSUSA.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) set forth the
manner in which merchandise is to be classified under the HTSUSA.
GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according
to the terms of the headings of the tariff and any relative
section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required,
according to the remaining GRI's, taken in order. With regard to
the subject key rings, the two headings at issue are the
following:
(1) 3926, Other articles of plastics and articles
of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914.
(2) 7326, Other articles of iron or steel.
In the instant case, we find no headings within the
nomenclature whose terms would specifically include key chains
which consist of both vinyl and steel. In addition, the key
rings are not covered by any Legal Notes, at either the Section
or Chapter level. GRI 1 is, therefore, inconclusive, and the
remaining GRI's, taken in order, are used.
The sample merchandise in this case is a composite good;
i.e., it is composed of more than one material. Composite goods
are classified by reference to GRI's 2 and 3. Under GRI 2, any
reference to a material or an article made of a material
includes goods made wholly or in part of that material. GRI 2
addresses classification of composite goods, and states, in
pertinent part, that:
2(b) . . . Any reference to goods of a given
material or substance shall be taken to
include a reference to goods consisting
wholly or partly of such material or
substance. The classification of goods
consisting of more than one material or
substance shall be according to the
principles of rule 3.
Under GRI 2, this type of merchandise may be classified under any
of the headings which include articles made of any one of the
composite materials.
GRI 3, HTSUSA, provides in pertinent part:
When, by application of rule 2(b) or for any other
reason, goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two
or more headings, classification shall be effected as
follows:
(a) The heading which provides the most
specific description shall be preferred to
headings providing a more general
description. However, when two or more
headings each refer to part only of the
materials or substances contained in mixed or
composite goods or to part only of the items
in a set put up for retail sale, those
headings are to be regarded as equally
specific in relation to those goods, even if
one of them gives a more complete or precise
description of the goods.
Since the plastic material and the steel material fall under
separate headings in the tariff schedule each of which describes
only a portion of the materials in the entire key chain, the
headings are to be regarded as equally specific under GRI 3(a).
Therefore, GRI 3(a) fails in establishing classification, and GRI
3(b) becomes applicable.
GRI 3(b) states in pertinent part:
(b) Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different
materials or made up of different components, and goods
put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be
classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as
if they consisted of the material or component which
gives them their essential character, insofar as this
criterion is applicable.
Determination of essential character under GRI 3(b) is not
made according to inflexible rules. While the Explanatory Notes
(EN) provide guidelines for making essential character
determinations, we cannot rely solely on those factors. The
EN's to GRI 3(b) indicate that:
(VIII) The factor which determines
essential character will vary as
between goods. It may, for
example, be determined by the
nature of the material or
component, its bulk, quantity,
weight or value, or by the role of
a constituent material in relation
to the use of the goods.
We believe that the EN language regarding bulk, weight,
constituent role, etc., should be cited as instructive but not
limiting to allow us to consider other pertinent factors in
those cases where the EN factors do not provide complete criteria
for an essential character determination.
Of the headings which merit consideration under GRI 3(b),
Heading 3926, HTSUSA, "Other articles of plastic" is the
provision into which these items would fall if the essential
character were defined by the plastic component. If, however,
the component providing the essential character were the steel,
then Heading 7326, HTSUSA, "Other articles of iron or steel"
would be the proper classification. This office is of the
opinion that, as between plastic and steel components, it is the
steel element which provides the essential character of this
item. We base this conclusion on two factors. First, on the
basis of the GRI 3(b) Explanatory Note, the weight and value
comparison of the key chain components clearly shows that the
steel comprises the majority by weight and value of the composite
material. Second, the steel component is what makes up the
utilitarian portion of the key ring, whereas the plastic
component is present primarily for decorative purposes.
Therefore, the merchandise is classified in Heading 7326, HTSUSA,
as other articles of iron or steel wire: Other.
Legal Note 2 to Chapter 73 states that "[i]n this chapter
the word "wire" means hot- or cold-formed products of any cross-
sectional shape, of which no cross-sectional dimension exceeds
16 mm." The split key ring meets the definition of a steel wire
in Chapter 73. Accordingly, the key ring is classified in the
provision for Articles of iron or steel wire: Other in
subheading 7326.20.0050, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The subject key ring is a composite article which is
classified according to the constituent material which comprises
the essential character of the entire article. Based on the
foregoing analysis, we have determined that the steel wire
constitutes the essential character of the article. Thus, the
subject merchandise is classifiable under subheading
7326.20.0050, HTSUSA, which provides for Other articles of iron
or steel: Articles of iron or steel wire: Other, dutiable at a
rate of 5.7 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division