CLA-2-04:OT:RR:NC:N2:231
Mr. Alain Marchand
Fromagerie Polyethnique
235 St-Robert Road
St-Robert, Quebec J0G 1S0
Canada
RE: The tariff classification of Nabulsi cheese from Canada.
Dear Mr. Marchand:
In your letter dated July 29, 2013, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The product in question is “Nabulsi,” a semi-soft, unripened white cheese said to have a salty flavor accented with exotic spices. The ingredients are cow’s milk, salt, calcium chloride, potassium sorbate, microbial enzyme, kalonji seeds and bacterial culture. (May also contain spices such as mahalab.) In a photo posted on your website, this cheese appears to be flecked with black seeds and/or spices. The moisture content is 48%, and the fat content is 27%. The cheese will be offered in the form of small (200- or 250-gram) slabs put up in retail packages.
The applicable subheading for the Nabulsi cheese, if entered under quota, will be 0406.10.8400, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for cheese and curd: fresh (unripened or uncured) cheese, including whey cheese, and curd: other: other: other: other cheese and substitutes for cheese (except cheese not containing cow’s milk, and soft ripened cow’s milk cheese): described in additional U.S. note 16 to chapter 4 and entered pursuant to its provisions. The general rate of duty will be 10 percent ad valorem.
Imports under subheading 0406.10.8400, HTSUS, require an import license, in accordance with terms and conditions provided in regulations issued by the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to the
approval of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The regulations may provide for the reallocation among supplying countries or areas of unfilled quantities, subject to USTR approval.
Questions regarding licensing procedures and applications for licenses to import cheese subject to quota should be addressed to:
Import Quota Manager for Dairy Products
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Stop 1029
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250-1029
Tel: (202) 720-1344
The applicable subheading for the Nabulsi cheese, if imported outside the quota (i.e., without a USDA cheese-import license), will be 0406.10.8800, HTSUS, which provides for cheese and curd: fresh (unripened or uncured) cheese, including whey cheese, and curd: other: other: other: other cheese and substitutes for cheese (except cheese not containing cow’s milk, and soft ripened cow’s milk cheese): other. The rate of duty will be $1.509 per kilogram.
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/.
Importations of this merchandise are subject to regulations administered by various U.S. agencies. Requests for information regarding applicable regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) may be addressed to that agency at the following location:
USDA
APHIS, VS, NCIE
Products Program
4700 River Road, Unit 40
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231
Tel: (301) 851-3300
Email: [email protected]
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 the FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html.
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 Nathan Rosenstein at (646) 733-3030.
Sincerely,
Deborah C. Marinucci
Acting Director
National Commodity Specialist Division