CLA-2-64:OT:RR:NC:N4:447
Mr. Jay Park
Excel International of N.Y. Corp.
146-27 167th Street, Suite 201
Jamaica, NY 11434
RE: The tariff classification of footwear from China
Dear Mr. Park:
In your letter dated December 28, 2011 you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Geoffrey Allen Corp., for five “athletic” shoes.
The submitted half-pair samples identified as style #’s GIM1121, GIM1128, GIB1128 and GIB1129 are men’s and boy’s lace-up athletic shoes with molded rubber or plastics outer soles and rubber or plastics uppers which cover the ankle. You question whether these shoes have foxing-like bands. A “surgical” examination by our office reveals that these molded soles do overlap the uppers by ¼ of an inch for the men’s shoes and 3/16th of an inch for the boy’s shoes and substantially encircle the shoes by at least 60 percent. You provided an F.O.B. value of $6.00/pair for each of these shoes.
The applicable subheading for the men’s athletic shoes, style #’s GIM1121 and GIM1128 will be 6402.91.7030, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics: which is not “sports footwear”; which covers the ankle; in which the upper’s external surface area measures over 90% rubber or plastics (including any accessories or reinforcements); which has a foxing or a foxing-like band; which is not protective; and which is valued over $3.00 but not over $6.50/pair: for men. The rate of duty is 90 cents/pair + 37.5% ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the boy’s athletic shoes, style #’s GIB1128 and GIB 1129 will be 6402.91.7090, HTSUS, which provides for footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics: which is not “sports footwear”; which covers the ankle; in which the upper’s external surface area measures over 90% rubber or plastics (including any accessories or reinforcements); which has a foxing or a foxing-like band; which is not protective; and which is valued over $3.00 but not over $6.50/pair: other. The rate of duty is 90 cents/pair + 37.5% ad valorem.
The submitted half-pair sample identified as style # GIB1120 is a boy’s lace-up athletic shoe with a molded rubber or plastics outer sole and a rubber or plastics upper which does not cover the ankle. You also question whether this shoe has a foxing-like band. A “surgical” examination by our office reveals that the molded sole does overlap the uppers by 3/16th of an inch and substantially encircles the shoe by at least 60 percent. You provided an F.O.B. value of $6.00/pair for this shoe.
The applicable subheading for the boy’s athletic shoe, style # GIB1120 will be 6402.99.7990, HTSUS, which provides for footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics: which is not “sports footwear”; which covers the ankle; other: in which the upper’s external surface area measures over 90% rubber or plastics (including any accessories or reinforcements); which has a foxing or a foxing-like band; which is not protective; which is valued over $3.00 but not over $6.50/pair; other: other: other. The rate of duty is 90 cents/pair + 37.5% 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/.
These athletic shoes are not marked with the country of origin. Therefore, if imported as is, they will not meet the country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Accordingly, the footwear would be considered not legally marked under the provisions of 19 C.F.R. 134.11 which states, “every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit, in such manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article.”
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 Stacey Kalkines at (646) 733-3042.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division