CLA-2 CO:R:G 086207 STB
Mr. Alan Fetchik
Whatman Inc.
9 Bridewell Place
Clifton, N.J. 07011
RE: Modification of New York Ruling Letter 834601
Dear Mr. Fetchik:
This letter is in response to a January 6, 1990 request by
the Chief, National Import Specialist Branch I, New York Seaport,
for a partial reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NYRL)
834601. A total of five items were classified in NYRL 834601;
this reconsideration concerns the classification of "Cellulose
Extraction Thimbles" listed as item #5 on the subject ruling
letter. Several samples were submitted for our review.
FACTS:
In NYRL 834601, dated February 8, 1989, this office
classified "Cellulose Extraction Thimbles" under subheading
4823.90.85, Harmonized Tariff System of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA) as other articles of paper or paperboard with
a duty rate of 5.3%.
Two of the samples were analyzed by the New York Customs
Laboratory. In Laboratory Report No. 2-89-30278-001, of January
1, 1989, one sample demonstrated a weight of 654.4 GMS/M2, and a
thickness averaging 2.16MM. It was found to consist of over 99%
cotton cellulose fibers. The sample is uncoated and has an ash
content of less than 0.1%. In Laboratory Report No. 2-90-30250-
002, of December 11, 1989, a similar sample was found to be
composed of 100% cotton fibers with an average length of 3.3MM.
The sample was found not to be coated or impregnated.
Information provided by Whatman, Inc., which is said to be
"proprietary and confidential", describes the production of these
thimbles as follows:
The thimbles, all sizes and thicknesses are hand made.
The process is labor intensive but simple. A hand
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held "mold" in the shape of a thimble is dipped into a
vat of pulp. The mold is held in the pulp for a
specified amount of time and then removed. By action
of a slight vacuum, the pulp is pressed onto the
exterior walls and forms a thimble. The newly formed
thimble is then removed and placed on a drying rack.
Additionally, our lab was informed by your company that the
samples are made from a "cotton slurry, shaped and molded, and is
hand produced--the slurry being paper pulp."
Your advertising literature states that "the standard
grades of Whatman extraction thimbles are manufactured from high-
alpha cellulose cotton linters." The literature further states
that "Since only virgin cotton linters are utilized in
production, Whatman thimbles are essentially fat-free."
The primary use of these thimbles is in Soxhlet extraction
units which provide a means of solvent extraction, i.e.
filtering, of solids or semi-solids. Extraction in the Soxhlet
system is by inflammable, toxic or odoriferous solvents.
ISSUES:
Whether the subject thimbles should be classified as
textile articles or articles of paper/paper pulp?
If the thimbles are not textile, should they be classified
as articles of paper, articles of paper pulp or molded articles
of pulp?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUSA is governed by the General
Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 provides that
classification is determined first in accordance with the terms
of the headings together with any relevant Section or Chapter
notes.
In determining whether these thimbles are textile articles
or articles of paper/paper pulp, several factors must be
discussed. Our conclusion is that the totality of the factors
indicates that these thimbles are not textile articles.
First, it should be noted that although the thimbles are
composed entirely of cotton, the cotton is in the form of cotton
linters. Cotton linters are classified in subheading
1404.20.00, HTSUSA. Note 1 to chapter 14 excludes materials
utilized solely in the manufacture of textiles:
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1. This chapter does not cover the following products which
are to be classified in section XI: vegetable materials
or fibers of vegetable materials of a kind used
primarily in the manufacture of textiles, however
prepared, or other vegetable materials which have
undergone treatment so as to render them suitable for
use only as textile materials.
Explanatory note (B) to chapter 14 tells us that cotton linters
"are also sometimes used in the manufacture of certain varieties
of paper, filter blocks and as a filler in the rubber industry."
Thus, the use of cotton linters, even if the article is 100%
cotton fibres, does not prohibit the paper classification.
The length of the fibres is also relevant. The lab report
notes that the average fibre length of the samples was 3.3MM with
actual observed lengths ranging between 3 and 4MM. Past Customs
rulings have indicated that material with textile fibers in
excess of 4MM were not likely to be paper. See Headquarters
Ruling Letters (HQRL) 065193 and 077972. Although we cannot
necessarily conclude from those rulings alone that the subject
thimbles are paper/paper pulp products, the rulings do indicate
the importance of fiber length in making the determination.
Also important is the manufacturing process. The method of
manufacture that you have described is a typical paper making
process.
Having decided that these thimbles are not textile articles,
we conclude that they are properly classifiable under subheading
4823.70.00, HTSUSA, as "Molded or pressed articles of paper
pulp", with a free rate of duty. This is a change from the
classification in NYRL 834601 in which the thimbles were
classified under subheading 4823.90.85, HTSUSA, as other articles
of paper of paperboard, with a duty rate of 5.3%. This change is
based on the description of paper in the General Explanatory
Notes (EN) of Chapter 48 as consisting "essentially of the
cellulosic fibres of the pulps of Chapter 47 felted together in
sheet form." At no time during the production of the thimbles
are the fibres ever put into sheet form. Therefore, the thimbles
are articles of pulp.
The determination that these are molded articles of pulp is
based on the manufacturing process. The manufacturing process is
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extremely similar to that described for "Molded Pulp Products"
in the Dictionary of Paper (A.P.I.,4th ed., 1980) at p.275:
Molded Pulp Products. Contoured products such as egg
packaging cartons, food trays, plates, bottle
protectors, etc., made by depositing fibers from a
pulp slurry onto a perforated mold, using either
pressure applied to the slurry or a vacuum behind
the mold, and then drying the preform with heat.
The only recognizable difference between the production of the
thimbles at issue (described at pp 1-2) and the process described
above is the method of drying. According to information obtained
in an April 25, 1990 telephone conversation with Mr. Walter Knott
of your office, the thimbles are air-dried rather than dried by
heat. This difference is de minimis; drying by heat is often
merely a way to quicken the air-drying process. These thimbles
are clearly molded articles of pulp.
HOLDING:
The "Cellulose Extraction Thimbles" are properly
classifiable under subheading 4823.70.00, HTSUSA, as "Molded or
pressed articles of paper pulp" with a free rate of duty.
Sincerely,
Jerry Laderberg, Acting Director
Commercial Rulings Division