CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N4:421
Ms. Jane L. Taeger
Samuel Shapiro & Company, Inc.
One Charles Center
100 North Charles St.
Suite 1200 Baltimore, MD 21201
RE: The tariff classification of plastic sheets from China
Dear Ms. Taeger:
This ruling is being issued to correct Customs Ruling Number N261080, dated February 20, 2015. The ruling letter contains clerical errors. A complete corrected ruling follows.
In your letter dated January 15, 2015, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, DAF Products, Inc. Product information and samples were submitted for our review.
The request included five items, each a type of plastic sheeting. The first, identified as CoverFab, is constructed of cellular polyvinyl chloride (PVC) reinforced with polyester textile. You indicate that the product is 75 percent PVC and 25 percent polyester by weight. The product is used for shower and privacy curtains and is treated with an anti-bacterial agent. The sheet has a plastic coating on both sides of the product that can be easily seen with the naked eye. You do not indicate the size in which the product will be imported, but the sample appears to be a sheet of rectangular shape.
The second product is identified as Safety Pool Fabric. You state that the product is made of non-cellular, high density polyethylene (HDPE) and has been embossed to resemble a woven fabric. This is incorrect. The product is constructed of black interwoven strips of plastic measuring less than 5mm in width; this constitutes a textile. The textile has been coated on both sides with a colored plastic material that can be seen with the naked eye. You indicate that the product is imported in rolls with a length of 300 yards and a width of 73 inches, and has a weight of 237 grams per square meter.
The third product is identified as DAF Escape. The product is an adhesive-backed PVC film with a removable liner. You state that the product is used for printing and is imported in rolls with a width of 54 inches.
The fourth product is a clear, polyester, double-sided tape. The product has permanent adhesive on one side and a removable adhesive on the other with a removable backing. The product is one inch in width and is imported in 200 foot-long rolls.
The last product is identified as Backlit Polyester Film. You state that this product is an 8 mil, translucent, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polyester sheet imported in 100 foot rolls. It is imported in widths of 50 and 60 inches. It is utilized for printing of items to be used with light boxes.
Each of the products herein meets the definition of sheets or film as set forth in Note 10 to Chapter 39. Each has a continuous surface and is imported in rectangular shapes. The DAF Escape and Double Sided Tape both meet the requirements for heading 3919 as set forth in the Explanatory Notes; they both are pressure sensitive, i.e., at room temperature, without wetting or other addition, they are permanently tacky (on one or both sides) and firmly adhere to a variety of dissimilar surfaces upon mere contact, without the need for more than finger or hand pressure.
You suggest that the Cover Fab product is classifiable under 3921.12.1100, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics: Cellular: Of polymers of vinyl chloride: Combined with textile materials: Products with textile components in which man-made fibers predominate by weight over any other single textile fiber: Over 70 percent by weight of plastics. However, the textile component of the CoverFab is polyester. In Semperit Industrial Products vs. United States, Slip-Op. 94-100, it was determined that the language "predominate by weight over any other single textile fiber" presupposed the existence of two or more classes of textile fibers. So, a product with polyester only cannot be classified under 3921.12.1100. The same decision governs the classification of the Safety Pool Fabric.
The applicable subheading for the CoverFab will be 3921.12.1950, HTSUS, which provides for Other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics: Cellular: Of polymers of vinyl chloride: Combined with textile materials: Other: Other. The rate of duty will be 5.3 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the Safety Pool Fabric will be 3921.90.1950, HTSUS, which provides for Other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics: Other: Combined with textile materials and weighing not more than 1.492 kg/m2: Other: Other. The rate of duty will be 5.3 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the DAF Escape will be 3919.90.5060, HTSUS, which provides for Self-adhesive plates, sheets, film, foil, tape, strip and other flat shapes, of plastics, whether or not in rolls: Other: Other: Other. The rate of duty will be 5.8 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the Double Sided Tape will be 3919.10.2055, HTSUS, which provides for Self-adhesive plates, sheets, film, foil, tape, strip and other flat shapes, of plastics, whether or not in rolls: In rolls of a width not exceeding 20 cm: Other: Other: Other. The rate of duty will be 5.8 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the Backlit Polyester Film will be 3920.62.0090, HTSUS, which provides for Other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics, noncellular and not reinforced, laminated, supported or similarly combined with other materials: Of polycarbonates, alkyd resins, polyallyl esters or other polyesters: Of poly(ethylene terephthalate): Other. The rate of duty will be 4.2 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/.
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 Laurel Duvall at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division