CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 088451 CC
Mr. Kent Sunakoda
Assistant Import Manager
James J. Boyle & Company
2525 Corporate Place #100
Monterey Park, CA 91754
RE: Reconsideration of NYRL 855970; classification of Showa
aramid honeycomb material
Dear Mr. Sunakoda:
This letter is in response to your request, on behalf of
Mitsui & Co. (USA) Inc., requesting reconsideration of New York
Ruling Letter (NYRL) 855970, dated October 5, 1990, concerning
the tariff classification of Showa aramid honeycomb material.
Samples were submitted for examination.
FACTS:
The aramid paper fiber is a nonwoven textile fabric of nylon
fibers. The nonwoven textile fabric is formed into sheets or
blocks with a honeycomb cell configuration. This material is
immersed into a phenolic resin (plastics material) solution and
then cured. Various thicknesses may be cut from this block.
Your letter indicates that this material is approximately 60
percent by weight of textile and 40 percent by weight of phenolic
resin. You state that this material will be imported in various
sizes and densities with standard size sheets of 44 inches by 96
inches or in block form. This material has numerous applications
for use in aircraft, skis, boats, etc.
In NYRL 855970 the merchandise at issue was classified under
subheading 3921.90.1500 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides for other
plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics, other,
combined with textile materials and weighing not more than
1.492 kg/m, products with textile components in which man-made
fibers predominate by weight over any other single textile fiber,
other. You do not believe that this merchandise is made of
textile material, but instead is made of paper.
ISSUE:
Whether the submitted merchandise is classifiable as an
article of paper of Chapter 48 of the 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 48, HTSUSA, provides for paper and paperboard,
articles of paper pulp, of paper or of paperboard. The
Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at
the international level, at page 664, state that paper consists
essentially of the cellulosic fibers of the pulps of Chapter 47
felted together in sheet form. A laboratory analysis of the
submitted samples confirmed that they are made of 100 percent
aramid fibers, a high temperature nylon fabric; thus, there are
no cellulosic fibers of the pulps of Chapter 47 in the
merchandise at issue. This merchandise consists essentially of
nonwoven fabric of nylon fibers coated with plastic.
Note 2 to Chapter 59 applies to plastic coated textiles. It
states that Heading 5903 applies to the following:
(a) Textile fabrics, impregnated, coated, covered or
laminated with plastics, whatever the weight per square
meter and whatever the nature of the plastic material
(compact or cellular), other than:
(3) Products in which the textile fabric is either
completely embedded in plastics or entirely coated or
covered on both sides with such material, provided
that such coating or covering can be seen with the
naked eye with no account being taken of any resulting
change of color (chapter 39).
An examination of the samples shows that the plastics
material is visible to the naked eye. The submitted merchandise
is entirely coated or covered with plastic, and is therefore
classifiable in Chapter 39, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The merchandise at issue is classified under subheading
3921.90.1500, HTSUSA, which provides for other plates, sheets,
film, foil and strip, of plastics, other, combined with textile
materials and weighing not more than 1.492 kg/m, products with
textile components in which man-made fibers predominate by weight
over any other single textile fiber, other. The rate of duty is
8.5 percent ad valorem, and the textile category is 229.
NYRL 855970, dated October 5, 1990, is affirmed.
Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation
(the ninth and tenth digits of the classification) and the
restraint (quota/visa) categories applicable to textile
merchandise, you should contact your local Customs office prior
to importation of this merchandise to determine the current
status of any import restraints or requirements.
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 internal
issuance of the U.S. Customs Service, which is available for
inspection at your local Customs office.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division