CLA-2-64:OT:RR:NC:N4:447
Mr. Lucio Miranda
Export USA New York, Corp.
18 Bridge Street, Unit 4C
Brooklyn, NY 11201
RE: The tariff classification of footwear from Cambodia
Dear Mr. Miranda:
In your letters dated September 27, 2012 and November 12, 2012 you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Seac USA Corp. for a scuba diving boot.
The submitted half-pair sample identified as a scuba diving boot, article code 67900, model name “Basic HD,” is described by you as a boot that is “intended to be paired with open heeled fins.” You state that the rubber or plastics outer sole overlaps the upper by varying heights, ranging between ¾ of an inch to 1 inch around the circumference of the boot. This overlap of the upper by the sole constitutes a foxing or a foxing-like band. You further claim that the two component stitched upper which covers the ankle is 90 percent neoprene with two rubber surfaces attached (one glued to the top of the boot and the other to the heel). It also has a rubber or plastics slide fastener closure, a “Seac” logo and a “Seac” hook and loop closure on its medial side (accessories or reinforcements). You contend that the boot is not “waterproof” and has an F.O.B. value of $6.50/pair. You suggest that the boot be classified under subheading 6402.91.40, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for in pertinent part; Other footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics.
We sent the boot to our Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Laboratory to determine its external surface area measurements by percentage (excluding accessories or reinforcements). The results of their analysis concluded that 63.4% of the upper’s external surface is textile material and 36.6% is rubber or plastics. Therefore, we disagree with your suggested classification.
Since you have not identified this boot as being worn exclusively by men or women, we conclude that it is of a type commonly worn by both sexes and is therefore considered “unisex.” Statistical Note 1(c) to Chapter 64, HTSUS, states; ‘The term “footwear for women” covers footwear of American women’s size 4 and larger, whether for females or of types commonly worn by both sexes.’
The applicable subheading for the scuba diving boot, article code 67900, model name “Basic HD” will be 6404.19.7960, HTSUS, which provides for footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textile materials: footwear with outer soles of rubber or plastics: not sports footwear; not footwear designed to be worn over, or in lieu of, other footwear as a protection against water, oil, grease or chemicals or cold or inclement weather; valued over $3 but not over $6.50/pair: other: other: other: for women. The rate of duty will be 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/.
The submitted sample is not marked with the country of origin. Therefore, if imported as is, it 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