CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N2:421
Mr. Greg Montgomery
OEC Group
11960 Westline Industrial Drive
Suite 350
St. Louis, MO 63146
RE: The tariff classification of plastic bags from China
Dear Mr. Montgomery:
In your letter dated August 19, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Performance Packaging of Nevada, LLC. Samples of five plastic bags were included with your letter and will be returned to you as requested.
Sample 1, identified as Squooshi, is a reusable, refillable food pouch. It is intended to contain various types of on-the-go foods such as purees that can be squeezed from the pouch. It is dishwasher safe and marketed as being free of BPA. The pouch has heat sealed sides, an integral extruded closure at the bottom and a choke-proof cap at the top. It measures approximately 6.5” long x 3.5” wide and can hold up to 4.5 fluid ounces. The pouch is sold empty to consumers to be filled with their own food preparations.
Sample 2, identified as Little Green Pouch, is a reusable, refillable food pouch. It is intended to contain various types of on-the-go foods that can be squeezed from the pouch. It is dishwasher safe and marketed as being free of BPA, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and phthalates. The pouch has heat sealed sides, an integral extruded closure at the top and a spout on one side. It measures approximately 6” long x 4.25” wide and can hold up to 7 fluid ounces. The pouch is sold empty to consumers to be filled with their own food preparations.
Sample 3, identified as Ernie Ball Bag, is a rectangular-shaped bag. It is used as retail packaging for guitar strings. It has a cut-out opening at the top for hanging on a rack in a retail store. The bag is heat sealed along the sides and has an integral extruded closure at the top. The bottom of the bag is left open so it can be filled with the guitar strings after importation and then sealed. It measures approximately 7.25” long x 4.75” wide. The bag is made from a laminate of polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene. The chief weight is imparted by the polyethylene. The bags will be imported in bulk packaging and shipped to Ernie Ball Inc. by the box.
Sample 4, identified as Tom Clark’s Bag, is a rectangular-shaped bag used as retail packaging for caramel popcorn. The front of the bag is printed with the name “Tom Clark’s Originals” and pictures of caramel popcorn kernels while the back is printed with a description of the popcorn, the ingredients and nutritional information. It has a hole-punch opening at the top for hanging on a rack in a retail store and is heat sealed along three sides. The top of the bag is left open so it can be filled with popcorn after importation and then sealed. It measures approximately 8.75” long x 6.5” wide and holds 113 grams of popcorn. The bag is made from a laminate of PET, metallized PET, and polyethylene. The chief weight is imparted by the polyethylene. The bags will be imported in bulk packaging and shipped to Tom Clark’s by the box.
Sample 5, identified as Big Reusable/Reclosable Bag, is a rectangular shaped bag said to be used as retail packaging. You state that when it is used to package food or perishables it is discarded after use, but when it is used as other retail packaging it may be reused. You state that it will be filled after importation. The bag belongs to a class or kind of bag principally used as disposable packaging. The bag has a slide lock extruded closure at the top and is heat sealed along three sides. It measures approximately 23” long x 14.5” wide with 3.5” side gussets. The bag is made from a laminate of PET, aluminum, nylon and polyethylene. The chief weight is imparted by the polyethylene. The bags will be imported in bulk packaging and reshipped by the box.
The applicable subheading for samples 1 and 2, the reusable Squooshi food pouch and the reusable Little Green Pouch food pouch, will be 3926.90.9980, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for other articles of plastics, other. The rate of duty will be 5.3 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for sample 3, the Ernie Ball Bag, will be 3923.21.0030, HTSUS, which provides for articles for the conveyance or packing of goods…sacks and bags (including cones): of polymers of ethylene…reclosable, with integral extruded closure: other. The rate of duty will be 3 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for sample 4, the Tom Clark’s Bag, will be 3923.21.0095, HTSUS, which provides for articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics…sacks and bags (including cones): of polymers of ethylene: other…other. The rate of duty will be 3 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for sample 5, the Big Reclosable bag, will be 3923.21.0020, HTSUS, which provides for articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics…sacks and bags (including cones): of polymers of ethylene…reclosable, with integral extruded closure: other, with sliders that open or close the seal. The rate of duty will be 3 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/.
The Little Green Pouch is printed to indicate that it is made in China. The remaining styles are not marked to show the country of origin of the bag. The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, 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 its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. Section 134.1(d), Customs Regulations [19 CFR 134.1(d)], defines "ultimate purchaser" as "generally the last person in the United States who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported.”
The ultimate purchaser of the reusable food pouches, samples 1 and 2, is the retail customer who purchases these pouches empty and fills and refills them with his own food preparations. Therefore, these pouches must be individually marked to indicate the country of origin. The Little Green Pouch is legibly, indelibly and permanently marked. The Squooshi must also be individually marked to indicate China as the country of origin.
The ultimate purchaser of samples 3, 4 and 5 is the company that packs the bags with the products that will be sold at retail, i.e., Ernie Ball Inc. for the guitar strings, Tom Clark’s for the popcorn, and the distributors of the products that will be packed in the Big Reclosable Bag. Section 134.24 (b), Customs Regulations [19 CFR 134.24(b)], provides that disposable containers, not designed for or capable of reuse, which are imported empty and packed and sold in multiple units, need not be individually marked with the country of origin. The marking requirements may be met by marking the outermost container which reaches the ultimate purchaser. Therefore the Ernie Ball Bag, the Tom Clark’s Bag and the Big Reclosable Bag may be excepted from individual marking provided the shipping containers in which they are imported are marked to indicate the country of origin of the bags, and the Customs officers at the port of entry are satisfied that the shipping containers will reach the ultimate purchaser unopened.
We note that the Ernie Ball Bag and the Tom Clark’s Bag are each marked with a domestic address, and the Tom Clark’s Bag shows “Made in U.S.A.” Such references are not acceptable unless the contents with which the containers will be packaged are of American origin. It is clear that the marking on the Tom Clark’s Bag relates to the origin of the popcorn that is to be packaged in the bags and not to the bags themselves. The marking on these bags will not be considered to be misleading or deceptive, provided that the Customs officers at the port of entry are satisfied that the bags will only be used to package merchandise that is made in the United States.
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 [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division