CLA-2-16:RR:E:NC:N2:228
Mr. Phillip Robinson
Fedex Trade Networks
850 SW 7th Street
Renton, WA 98057
RE: The tariff classification of sushi from Thailand
Dear Mr. Robinson:
In your letter dated June 25, 2007, on behalf of Admiralty Island Fisheries, Inc., dba Aqua Star (USA) Corporation, Seattle, WA, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
Illustrative literature and ingredients breakdowns were submitted with your letter. Additional information was provided in a facsimile transmission dated June 28, 2007, and via email on July 5, 2007 and July 20, 2007. The product is an assortment of 26 sushi products on a tray, with four plastic pouches of soy sauce, pickled ginger, and wasabi paste, and four pairs of bamboo chopsticks, individually wrapped in paper sleeves. The sushi is in the form of nigiri, rectangular bars of rice topped with a piece of fish or shellfish, and large and small maki, sushi rice and seaweed rolled around a fish, shellfish, or combination fish/shellfish and vegetable center. The principle ingredient in all pieces is the cooked and seasoned sushi rice (rice, water, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt), from 64 to 81 percent, by weight, depending on the unit. The shrimp, tuna, salmon, and eel nigiri contain from 22 to 31 percent, by weight, of their respective fish or shellfish. The large maki California roll contains 23 percent imitation crab. The shrimp, salmon, and tuna small maki contain 18 percent, by weight, of fish or shellfish. The shrimp & asparagus, salmon & cream cheese, and tempura shrimp large maki contain 13, 17, and 9 percent, respectively, by weight, of fish or shellfish. The wasabi paste is said to consist of wasabi, horseradish, sugar, salt, and coloring. The sushi tray assortment will be imported in frozen condition, film-wrapped, and vacuum sealed, in a printed paper box.
The applicable subheading for the California roll, eel nigiri, salmon nigiri, and tuna nigiri will be 1604.20.0510, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for other prepared or preserved fish…prepared meals. The duty rate will be 10 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the shrimp nigiri will be 1605.20.0510, HTSUS, which provides for crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, prepared or preserved…shrimps and prawns…prepared meals…in airtight containers, imported in accordance with Statistical Note 1 to this chapter. The duty rate will be 5 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the small shrimp, tuna, and salmon maki and the large tempura shrimp, salmon & cream cheese, and shrimp & asparagus maki will be 1904.90.0120, HTSUS, which provides for cereals (other than corn (maize)) in grain form…pre-cooked or otherwise prepared, not elsewhere specified or included…other…frozen. The duty rate will be 14 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the wasabi paste will be 2004.90.8580, HTSUS, which provides for other vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, frozen…other vegetables and mixtures of vegetables… other, including mixtures. The duty rate will be 11.2 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the soy sauce will be 2103.10.0000, HTSUS, which provides for sauces and preparations therefor…soy sauce. The duty rate will be 3 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the bamboo chopsticks will be 4419.00.8000, HTSUS, which provides for tableware and kitchenware, of wood…other. The duty rate will be 3.2 percent ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
Articles classifiable under subheading 1604.20.0510, 1605.20.0510, 1904.90.0120, 2103.10.0000, and 4419.00.8000, HTSUS, which are products of Thailand may be entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. The GSP is subject to modification and periodic suspension, which may affect the status of your transaction at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. To obtain current information on GSP, check our Web site at www.cbp.gov and search for the term "GSP".
This merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html.
Your inquiry does not provide enough information for us to give a classification ruling on the pickled ginger. Your request for a classification ruling should include samples for examination and laboratory analysis. When this information is available, you may wish to consider resubmission of your request.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Stanley Hopard at 646-733-3029.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division