CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N4:421
Ms. Patricia M. Choo
ITOCHU International Inc.
335 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
RE: The tariff classification of hangers from China
Dear Ms. Choo:
In your letter dated August 31, 2010, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
Five sample hangers were submitted with your request. Item 1 is a slightly curved wooden jacket hanger with a metal swivel top hook. The hanger measures approximately 17 inches in length and 5/8 inch in thickness. Item 2, style 2412, is a slightly curved hollow black molded plastic jacket hanger with a metal swivel top hook. The hanger measures approximately 18 inches in length. The thickness measures approximately ½ inch at the center, flaring outward to 1 1/8 inches at each end. Item 3, style 2412/2517, is similar in size and construction to style 2412 except it has a hollow cross bar at the bottom to hold a pair of slacks. It also has the name of the garment designer pasted on the hanger and includes a size ring on the top hook. Item 4, style 6212, is a 12 inch black molded plastic bottom hanger with a metal swivel top hook. It is of substantial construction, with ridges measuring 5/16 inch in width. Item 5, style 6214, is a 14 inch clear molded plastic bottom hanger with a metal swivel top hook. It is of substantial construction, with ridges measuring 3/8 inch in width. Both hangers 6212 and 6214 incorporate pinch clips that operate by means of a metal spring to secure shorts, pants, or skirts.
The applicable subheading for the plastic hangers, styles 2412, 2412/2517, 6212 and 6214, will be 3923.90.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics, other. The rate of duty will be 3 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the wooden jacket hanger will be 4421.10.0000, HTSUS, which provides for other articles of wood: clothes hangers. The rate of duty will be 3.2 percent ad valorem.
You ask whether the hangers are separately classifiable from the apparel when they are imported holding the apparel. You state that the hangers will be imported holding apparel and will be sold with those garments to your customers in the United States, who will in turn sell them to department stores. You state that the hangers will be sold with and remain on the garments until they reach the final customer.
General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 5(b) of the HTSUS provides that, subject to the provisions of GRI 5(a), packing materials and packing containers entered with the goods therein shall be classified with the goods if they are of a kind normally used for packing such goods. However, this provision is not binding when such materials or packing containers are clearly suitable for repetitive use. Styles 6212 and 6214 are substantially similar to the hangers that were the subject of HQ 964948 and 964963, and styles 6212 and 6214 were specifically addressed in HQ 964964. In those three HQ rulings, all dated June 19, 2001, the hangers, which were all used in hanger recovery systems, were ruled to be suitable for repetitive use for the conveyance of goods and thus separately classifiable from the garments.
You have asked whether the hangers are separately classifiable from the garments since your company does not reuse the hangers for repetitive shipments. In HQ 964963, cited above, Headquarters noted that "actual reuse of the hangers is not necessary as long as the hangers are substantial and are of the class or kind of goods used for the conveyance of garments." Thus, hanger styles 6212 and 6214, which have been documented previously as suitable for repetitive use, are separately classifiable in subheading 3923.90.0080, HTSUS, even when imported with garments, and even when not actually used for repetitive conveyance of goods.
The wooden jacket hanger is also suitable for repetitive use, though in this case the use is not as packaging for the commercial shipment of garments but as a closet hanger for use in the home. The hanger is of very substantial and durable construction. It is not ordinary packaging for garments but is of a class or kind of hanger typically sold on its own and principally used for household storage. The intended purpose of the hanger is the continued use by the end purchaser of the jacket, i.e., the individual who purchases it at the retail outlet, to store the jacket when not in use. The hanger incorporates design features that facilitate long term storage of the jacket or other garment. The wooden jacket hanger is separately classifiable in subheading 4421.10.0000, HTSUS, even when imported with the garment.
The plastic suit and jacket hangers, styles 2412 and 2412/2517, are not similar in style or construction to other hangers that have been ruled to be suitable for repetitive use for the conveyance of goods. We have no information that these types of hangers are used in the VICS Floor Ready Hanger Program or other hanger recovery programs. In the absence of such evidence these hangers are not considered to be suitable for repetitive use as packaging articles. They are not of a class or kind of hanger principally used for home storage. Therefore, styles 2412 and 2412/2517 are classifiable with the garments with which they are imported.
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/.
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 Joan Mazzola at (646) 733-3023.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division