CLA-2-04:S:N:N7:N229:880610
Mr. Adolfo R. Rueda
ECUA Enterprises, Inc.
222 Mamaroneck Avenue
White Plains, NY 10605-1316
RE: The tariff classification of QUESO EL CAMPESINO from
Ecuador.
Dear Mr. Rueda:
In your letter dated November 18, 1992, you requested a
tariff classification ruling.
The cheese in question is a moist, soft cheese, white in
color and rindless. The interior of the cheese numerous
mechanical openings, as the cheese curd is loosely knit. The
cheese has a creamy, sour taste. A sample of this product,
analyzed by the Customs Laboratory at New York, was found to be a
cow's milk cheese consisting, by weight, of 54 percent moisture,
23.5 percent fat (51 percent fat on a dry basis), 11.8 percent
protein and 2.3 percent salt, with a pH of 5.5.
The applicable subheading for QUESO EL CAMPESINO will be
0406.10.5050, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTS), which provides for Fresh cheese (including whey cheese),
not fermented, and curd. The duty rate will be 10 percent ad
valorem.
Articles classifiable under subheading 0406.10.5050, HTS,
which are products of Ecuador are entitled to duty free treatment
under the Andean Trade Preference Act upon compliance with all
applicable regulations.
Articles classifiable in HTS subheading 0406.90.8060 are
subject to quota quantity restrictions listed in subchapter IV of
Chapter 99 in HTS subheading 9904.10.54, which limits the amount
of such cheese which may be imported from countries (including
Ecuador) with no specific quota allocation to an annual quota
quantity of 201,635 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.
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