CLA-2-03:S:N:N7:232 808497
0901.11.0090; 1209.99.4075; 2008.99.6500
Mr. Samuel Nji Ngwa
4105 14th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55407
RE: The tariff classification of various food products from
Cameroon.
Dear Mr. Ngwa:
In your letter dated March 16, 1995 you requested a tariff
classification ruling.
Your query concerns the classification of several food
products from Cameroon, West Africa as follows:
1) Coffee beans - these are green dried coffee beans,
imported in jute bags weighing 60 kilograms each.
2) Melon seeds (Egusi) - these are harvested from the melon
fruit, washed and dried and packed in jute bags of various sizes.
3) Smoked/dried shrimp (crayfish) - caught fresh from the
ocean, these are smoked and dried and packed in sealed
polyethylene-lined jute bags of various sizes.
4) Garri - this is made from the cassava tuber. The tuber
is peeled, ground into a paste and dried. The paste is then
baked or fried in palm oil to a very dry level.
5) Palm oil - this is a liquid produced from the ripened
palm nut of palm trees. The nuts are cooked and shells removed,
leaving the skins which are squeezed under high pressure to
remove the red oil. The oil is then cooked to refine it from all
impurities and packed into various sized containers. The one
liter size is scheduled for importation into the United States.
The applicable subheading for the coffee beans (if Arabica)
will be 0901.11.0010, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTS), which provides for coffee, whether or not roasted
or decaffeinated...coffee, not roasted...not decaffeinated...
Arabica. The duty rate will be free. If the beans are not
Arabica, the applicable subheading will be 0901.11.0090, HTS,
which provides for coffee, whether or not roasted or
decaffeinated...coffee, not roasted...not decaffeinated...other.
The duty rate will also be free.
The applicable subheading for the melon seeds will be
1209.99.4075, HTS, which provides for seeds, fruits and spores,
of a kind used for sowing...other...other...other...other melon.
The rate of duty will be 2.89 cents per kilogram.
The applicable subheading for the smoked/dried shrimp will
be 0306.23.0020, HTS, which provides for crustaceans, whether in
shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in
brine...not frozen...shrimps and prawns...shell-on. The duty
rate will be free. The applicable heading for the smoked/dried
crayfish will be 0306.29.0000, HTS, which provides for
crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled,
frozen, dried, salted or in brine...not frozen...other, including
flours, meals and pellets of crustaceans, fit for human
consumption. The duty rate will also be free.
The applicable subheading for the garri will be
2008.99.6500, HTS, which provides for other edible parts of
plants, otherwise prepared or preserved...other...yucca. The
rate of duty will be 7.9 percent ad valorem.
Articles classifiable under subheadings 1209.99.4075 and
2208.99.6500, HTS, which are products of Cameroon are entitled to
duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations.
Your inquiry does not provide enough information for us to
give a classification ruling on the palm oil. Your request for a
classification ruling should include the genus and species of the
palm tree or trees from which the oil is obtained, and whether
the oil is derived from the pulp of the fruit or the kernel of
the nut.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section
177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry
documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the
documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be
brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the
transaction.
Sincerely,
Jean F. Maguire
Area Director
New York Seaport