CLA-2 RR:TC:TE 959594 GGD
Ms. Linda Cooper
Cooper Imports, Inc.
Post Office Box 888
Tonawanda, New York 14150-0888
RE: Reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) 856343;
Child's Rainboot Supported or Lined with Textile Material
Dear Ms. Cooper:
This letter is in response to your request of May 30, 1996,
for reconsideration of NY 856343, issued October 16, 1990, which
pertains to the classification under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), of a child's
rainboot imported from Turkey (although currently the article is
a product of the United Kingdom). A sample was submitted with
your request.
FACTS:
In NY 856343, the boot was classified in subheading
6401.92.90, HTSUSA, the provision for "Waterproof footwear with
outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics, the uppers of which
are neither fixed to the sole nor assembled by stitching,
riveting, nailing, screwing, plugging or similar processes: Other
footwear: Covering the ankle but not covering the knee: Other:
Other," with an applicable duty rate of 37.5 percent ad valorem.
The sample is a child's one piece boot that measures
approximately seven inches in height and is composed almost
entirely of molded polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The inside of the
boot, however, is supported or lined with a thin layer of woven -2-
nylon textile material that the importer refers to as a "mold
release agent," without which, it is said, the boot would not
release from the mold used in manufacturing.
ISSUE:
Whether the child's rainboot is classified in subheading
6401.92.90, HTSUSA, or in subheading 6401.92.60, HTSUSA, the
provision for "Waterproof footwear with outer soles and uppers of
rubber or plastics, the uppers of which are neither fixed to the
sole nor assembled by stitching, riveting, nailing, screwing,
plugging or similar processes: Other footwear: Covering the ankle
but not covering the knee: Other: Having soles and uppers of
which over 90 percent of the external surface area (including any
accessories or reinforcements such as those mentioned in note
4(a) to this chapter) is polyvinyl chloride, whether or not
supported or lined with polyvinyl chloride but not otherwise
supported or lined." (Emphasis added)
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with
the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that
the classification of goods shall be determined according to the
terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative
Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be
classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and
legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI may then
be applied. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System, which represent the
official interpretation of the tariff at the international level,
facilitate classification under the HTSUS by offering guidance in
understanding the scope of the headings and GRI.
Heading 6401, HTSUS, covers a variety of waterproof
footwear. Since the child's rainboot does not incorporate a
protective metal toe-cap, and since the boot covers the ankle but
not the knee, the applicable six digit subheading is 6401.92,
HTSUS. The determination of the correct eight digit subheading
in which the merchandise will be classified, hinges upon whether
the item is supported or lined with a material or substance other
than PVC.
You assert that the rainboot has no support or lining other
than PVC, and contend that what remains inside the PVC shell
after completion of the thermoplastic injection molding process
is not a lining but the "mold release agent," an integral part of
the process without which the boot would stick to the mold. You -3-
further maintain that note 3(a) to chapter 64, HTSUS, is
applicable to the classification of the rainboot. The note
states:
For purposes of this chapter:
The terms "rubber" and "plastics" include woven fabrics
or other textile products with an external layer of
rubber or plastics being visible to the naked eye....
You assert that the legal note operates to allow (but ignore for
classification purposes) the presence of nylon woven textile
material in the PVC boot because the term "plastics," and
therefore, PVC plastics, includes woven fabric or other textile
products with an external layer of plastics. The rainboot at
issue, however, being almost entirely a product of PVC plastics,
is not accurately described as a woven fabric/textile product
with a merely visible surface layer of plastics. We thus find
that note 3(a) to chapter 64, HTSUS, is inapplicable to the
boot's classification.
Although the thin layer of woven nylon textile material
inside the boot provides little in the way of comfort, warmth,
protection, sweat absorption, etc., these attributes are not
required in order for a material to meet the definitions of
"lining." Webster's New World Dictionary of the American
Language (1972), defines "lining" as "1. the act or process of
covering the inner surface of something 2. the material used or
suitable for this purpose."
The EN to heading 6401 also contemplate the use of textile
material which later forms the lining of footwear manufactured by
press molding and injection molding processes. The EN state that
the heading covers, inter alia, footwear obtained by any of the
processes described below:
(1) Press moulding
In this process, a core, sometimes covered by a textile
"sock" which later forms the lining of the article [emphasis
added], is placed in a mould with either preforms or
granules.
The mould is closed and placed between the platens of a
press, which are heated to a high temperature.
Under the influence of the heat, the preforms or
granules acquire a certain degree of viscosity and
completely fill the space between the core and the walls of -4-
the mould; the excess material escapes through vents. The
material then vulcanises (rubber) or gels (polyvinyl
chloride).
When the moulding process is complete, the shoe is
taken out of the mould and the core is removed.
(2) Injection moulding
This process is similar to press moulding, except that
the preforms or granules used in the press moulding process
are replaced by a rubber-based or polyvinyl chloride-based
mix, pre-heated to give it the viscosity required for
injection into the mould.
The quotation marks surrounding the term "sock" in the EN
above indicate that a "sock" used to cover the core and
eventually form the lining of footwear manufactured by a molding
process is different in design and use than a sock worn on the
foot, often with footwear, for comfort, warmth, and protection.
Although the rainboot's woven nylon textile material may function
as a "mold release agent," it also forms the lining of the
article. Since the rainboot 1) has soles and uppers of which
over 90 percent of the external surface area is PVC; and 2) is
supported or lined with a material other than PVC, the plain
language of the tariff requires that the article be classified in
subheading 6401.92.90, HTSUSA. For a similar ruling involving
these issues, see Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 085976, issued
March 5, 1990.
HOLDING:
The child's rainboot is classified in subheading 6401.92.90,
HTSUSA, the provision for "Waterproof footwear...Other footwear:
Covering the ankle but not covering the knee: Other: Other."
The applicable duty rate is 37.5 percent ad valorem.
NY 856343, issued October 16, 1990, is hereby affirmed.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification
Appeals Division