CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087771 CC
Mr. Christopher Lange
Director
C.G. Trading Company
Three Cedar Pond Drive, Suite One
Warwick, RI 02886
RE: Classification of a hand embroidered article; not
classifiable as art work in Chapter 97; classifiable as an
other made up textile article in Chapter 63
Dear Mr. Lange:
This letter is in response to your inquiry of July 12, 1990,
requesting tariff classification of a hand embroidered article
from China. A sample was submitted for examination.
FACTS:
You state that the articles the sample represents are known
as "Double Sided Embroidery" or "Suzhou Embroidery." The
submitted sample is designated as "Kitten Teasing a Mantis." The
silk gauze has been embroidered with silk yarns to represent a
kitten and a mantis. The embroidery represents a different
colored kitten on each side of the gauze. The gauze is placed in
a wood frame with glass. Attached to the frame is a metal peg,
which fits into a hole in a decoratively carved wood base.
You state that these articles are produced by various
artisans working in the Suzhou area of the People's Republic of
China, under the direction of masters who are regarded as
national treasures by their government. The skills required for
this art form are passed on by apprenticeship under a master and
can require over ten years of work.
ISSUE:
Whether the submitted hand embroidered article is
classifiable in Chapter 97 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) or in Chapter 63, HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's),
taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be
determined according to the terms of the headings and any
relative section or chapter notes.
Chapter 97, HTSUSA, provides for works of art. In
Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 084244, dated July 14, 1989, we
ruled that embroidered pictures were not provided for in Chapter
97. The merchandise at issue is essentially an embroidered
picture and is not classifiable in Chapter 97.
The submitted merchandise is made of wood, glass, and
embroidered fabric, which makes it a composite article. Since
framed embroidery is not specifically provided for under the
tariff schedule, the component materials of which it is
constructed are classifiable under several headings. GRI 3(b)
provides that mixtures, composite goods consisting of different
materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in
sets for retail sale, shall be classified as if they consisted of
the material or component which gives them their essential
character. The wood and glass serve to display the embroidered
fabric, which primarily gives this article its decoration.
Clearly the embroidered fabric imparts the essential character to
this merchandise. Therefore this merchandise is classified as if
it consisted only of the embroidered fabric.
Chapter 63, HTSUSA, provides for other made up textile
articles, and Heading 6304 provides for other furnishing
articles. According to the Explanatory Notes, the official
interpretation of the HTSUSA at the international level, Heading
6304 covers furnishing articles of textile materials, other than
those of the preceding headings or of Heading 9404, for use in
the home, etc. In addition, Heading 6304 includes wall hangings,
among other articles.
Although this article does not hang on a wall, it provides a
decorative effect similar to that of a wall hanging. We believe
that the submitted merchandise is the class or kind of article
classifiable as an other furnishing article; therefore, it is
classifiable in Heading 6304, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The submitted merchandise is classified under subheading
6304.99.6030, HTSUSA, which provides for other furnishing
articles, excluding those of Heading 9404, other, not knitted or
crocheted, of other textile materials, other, other, other,
containing 85 percent or more by weight of silk or silk waste.
The rate of duty is 6.4 percent ad valorem. No textile category
is currently assigned to articles classifiable under this
subheading.
The submitted merchandise and the book Treasures of Suzhou
Embroidery are being returned to you under separate cover.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division