Tariff classification of component of infants' headrest

HQ 081832 October 3, 1988 CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 081832 SM CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 6307.90.9000 Ms. Sherry Estenson Charles M. Schayer and Company P. O. Box 38367 Denver, CO 80238 RE: Tariff classification of component of infants' headrest Dear Ms. Estenson: Your letter of July 6, 1987, addressed to our New York office, requests a tariff classification ruling on behalf of Gold Inc. d.b.a. TV Bootees. The merchandise, to be imported from South Korea, is a component of a product called the Baby Head Support. FACTS: A sample of the merchandise was submitted to this office. It is a textile product, of which you state the component fibers are the following: broadcloth 50 percent polyester/50 percent cotton terrycloth 100 percent polyester fiberfill 100 percent polyester However, there is no terrycloth in the sample, which is cut from a quilted textile product consisting of three layers, two layers of woven fabric with a thin layer of nonwoven man-made fiber batting sandwiched in between them. It is roughly rectangular in shape with one end rounded off and measures approximately ten inches wide by twenty-four inches long. There is a three-inch slit in each side about seven inches below the rounded end, and an L-shaped slit at the other end. When the Baby Head Support is completed, these slits will accommodate the safety straps of an infants' seat. - 2 - The phrase "Heads Up" is embroidered in script in the center of the article in contrasting thread. This embroidery enhances the article and constitutes ornamentation. After importation, a padded roll to support the head will be added to the rounded end, snap fasteners will be provided, and the raw edges will be finished. You suggest that the article should be classified under item 386.1343, Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated (TSUSA), currently item 386.1443, TSUSA, a provision for articles not specially provided for, of textile materials, ornamented, of man-made fibers. Duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences is available for qualifying articles from South Korea classified under this item. ISSUE: How are the unfinished Baby Head Support components classified? LAW AND ANALYSIS: There is no more specific provision of the TSUSA than item 386.1443 that covers this merchandise, assuming that it is in chief value of man-made fibers. We have recently determined that completed infant headrests that appear to be similar to those you plan to produce are classified as articles of textile materials, not specially provided for. File 081847 of July 6, 1988. The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Anno- tated (HTSUSA) is scheduled to replace the TSUSA. Chapter 63, HTSUSA, generally covers other made up textile articles. The Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at the international level, state that this chapter includes cer- tain articles not more specifically described in other chapters of the nomenclature. We find no specific provision for the Baby Head Support component in any other chapter. Note 1 of Chapter 63 provides that Subchapter I applies only to made up articles, of any textile fabric. The sample is of textile fabric. The term made up is defined in Note 7 to Section XI, the textile section. It means, among other things, "[c]ut otherwise than into squares or rectangles." The sample cannot be said to be fabric merely cut into a rectangle or square. Further, it has been embroidered. We conclude that it comes within the term made up. -3- HOLDING: The Baby Head Support component is classified under item 386.1443, TSUSA, as other ornamented articles of textile materials. Under the proposed HTSUSA, the article is classified in Subchapter I of Chapter 63 under subheading 6307.90.9000, as other made up articles. This classification represents the present position of the Customs Service under the HTSUSA. If there are changes before the effective date of January 1, 1989, this advice may not continue to be applicable. Sincerely, John Durant, Director Commercial Rulings Division 6cc: Area Director, NY Seaport Area cc: Legal Reference Section cc: CITA cc: NIS Richard Eyskens