CLA-2-04:S:N:N1:229
Ms. Bea Moreno
Hermann Ludwig Inc.
1462 Elmhurst Road
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
RE: The tariff classification of "Laughing Cow" Gruyere-Process
cheese from France.
Dear Ms. Moreno:
In your letter dated June 21, 1990, you requested a tariff
classification ruling.
This product is described as "Laughing Cow" cheese, produced
by Fromageries Bel of Paris, France. A sample of the product
consisted of eight individual cheese wedges, each wrapped in foil
and packaged in a circular paperboard box holding 5 ounces (140
grams), net weight. Both the paperboard box and the individual
wedges bear the recorded trademark of the "Laughing Cow". You
state that "Laughing Cow" Process cheese is produced from as
Gruyere cheese, or from Emmenthal cheese, or from a mixture of
Swiss and Cheddar cheeses, but advise that you intend to import
only the Gruyere-process cheese. The label on the sample
submitted shows the product ingredients as milk, cheese culture,
salt enzymes, cream, sodium phosphate, sodium citrate, and salt.
Please note that the invoice description of these products, when
exported to the United States, must identify the natural cheese,
or cheeses, which are used in manufacturing the processed
product. An analysis of the sample by the U.S. Customs
Laboratory at New York reported the composition of the sample, by
weight, as 54.5 percent moisture, 23.5 percent butterfat (51.5
percent butterfat in the dry matter), 11.3 percent protein, and
2.7 percent salt. The pH of the sample was 5.8.
The applicable subheading for "Laughing Cow" Gruyere-process
cheese will be 0406.30.5000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTS), which provides for Gruyere-process cheese.
The rate of duty will be 6.4 percent ad valorem.
Articles classifiable in HTS subheading 0406.30.5000 are
subject to quota quantity restrictions listed in subchapter IV of
Chapter 99 in HTS subheading 9904.10.51, which limits the amount
of such cheese which may be imported from the European Economic
Community to an annual quota quantity of 3,625,000 kilograms.
Additionally, an import license, issued to the importer by the
United States Department of Agriculture, will be required at the
time such merchandise is entered for consumption into the United
States.
Questions regarding licensing procedures and applications
for license to import cheese subject to quota should be addressed
to:
Head, Dairy and Import Group
Dairy, Livestock and Poultry Division
Federal Agricultural Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, D.C. 20250
Information regarding applicable regulations administered by
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration--specifically, with regard
to labeling requirements and product identity--may be addressed
to that Agency at the following location:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Division of Regulatory Guidance
HFF 314, 200 C Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20204
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