CLA-2-65:RR:NC:WA:353 C81090
Mr. Stephen M Zelman
888 Seventh Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10106
RE: The tariff classification of a hard hat liner from China
Dear Mr. Zelman:
In your letter dated October 24, 1997 you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client Sportsmed International, Inc. A sample was submitted for examination.
The submitted sample, no style number, is described as a hard hat liner, said to be composed of 100% terry cloth. It features velcro tabs for securing the liner to the webbing of a hard hat's interior and is finished with capping to finish the edges of the liner.
The applicable subheading for the terry hard hat liner will be 6507.00.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for "Headbands, linings, covers, hat foundations, hat frames, peaks (visors) and chinstraps, for headgear". The rate of duty will be O.5 percent ad valorem.
Applicability of country of origin marking requirements:
Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides, subject to specified exceptions, that all articles of foreign origin (or their containers) imported into the U.S. are required to be legibly, conspicuously, and permanently marked to indicate the country of origin to an ultimate purchaser in the U.S. For purposes of this statute, "country of origin" means the country of manufacture, production or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the U.S. Further work or material added to an article in another country generally must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the "country of origin." See section 134.1(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)).
Pursuant to 19 CFR 134.32(d), you may mark the container or packaging, instead of the individual article, if this marking will reasonably indicate to the ultimate purchaser the country of origin the article, and provided that the individual article does not bear any words, letters, names, or symbols described in sections 134.46 or 134.47, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46- 134.47), such as U.S. addresses, which imply that it was made or produced in a country other than the actual country of origin.
Your proposed marking of sealed polybags with a visible flyer which contains the phrase "Made in China" which you state will be made to be of equal size to the address of the distributor will be an acceptable for country of origin marking and the liners sealed therein do not have to be marked with the country of origin.
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 Martin Weiss at 212-466-5881.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division