CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 084940 HP
Ms. Lena Rainbow
Customs Department
Associated Merchandising Corporation
50 Terminal Road
Secaucus, NJ 07096
RE: Classification of wool carpet
Dear Ms. Rainbow:
This is in reply to your letter of May 23, 1989, concerning
the tariff classification of
wool carpet, produced in India, under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United
States Annotated (HTSUSA).
FACTS:
The merchandise at issue consists of a 100 percent woven
wool rug. Construction is
of a 60 count woolen yarn with a four ply. The wool is issued on
a loom, with a
weight of 3 kilograms per square meter. The net wool weight in
the rug is 2.8
kilograms, and the pile height is 4.5 to 5.
8
The design of the rug is sketched on a thick coarse fabric.
The fabric is fixed by
nails to a wood frame. The weaver then puts the tufts, one by
one in the required
color, with a small hand operated tool called a hand tufting gun.
After the carpet is
completely woven, the carpet is taken off the loom. The back of
the carpet has a
rubberized chemical solution applied to it by hand, so the
woollen tufts are stuck to the
fabric. After another layer of fabric is fixed on the back of
the rug to obscure the
rubberized solution, the pile is then completely hand sheared/
embossed by scissor.
You state the carpet is not a certified handloom or folklore
product, and that it is
hand-hooked, not hand-knotted.
In further submissions, you have advised us that the hand
tufting gun is completely
hand-operated; no electricity or separate mechanical device is
required. You have sent
us a sample of the gun for our examination.
ISSUE:
Whether the carpet is hand-made or machine-made for
classification purposes under
HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Heading 5703, HTSUSA, provides for carpets and other textile
floor coverings, tufted,
whether or not made up. The Explanatory Notes to the HTSUSA
constitute the official
interpretation of the tariff at the international level. The
Explanatory Note to this
heading states:
[t]his heading covers tufted carpets and other
tufted textile floor
coverings produced on tufting machines which, by
means of a system of
needles and hooks, insert textile yarn into a pre-
existing backing (usually
a woven fabric or a nonwoven) thus producing loops,
or, if the needles
and hooks are combined with a cutting device, tufts
. The yarns forming
the pile are then normally fixed by a coating of
rubber or plastics.
Usually before the coating is allowed to dry it is
either covered by a
secondary backing of loosely woven textile material
, e.g., jute, or by
foamed rubber.
The instant merchandise is clearly covered by the
aforementioned heading. Therefore,
it is considered a tufted floor covering.
HOLDING:
As a result of the foregoing, the instant merchandise is
classified under subheading
5703.10.0000, HTSUSA, textile category 465, as carpets and other
textile floor coverings,
tufted, whether or not made up, of wool or fine animal hair. The
applicable rate of
duty is 7 percent ad valorem.
The designated textile and apparel category may be
subdivided into parts. If so, 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 that you check, close to the time of shipment, the
Status Report On Current
Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an issuance of the U.S. Customs
Service, which is
updated weekly and is available at your local Customs office.
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 importing the merchandise to
determine the current
applicability of any import restraints or requirements.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division