Classification and marking of a shoe upper.

NY 850574 April 9, 1990 CLA-2-64:S:N:N3D:346 M 850574 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 6406.10.6500 Mr. Jack Smith Saint Crispin Shoe Corporation P.O. Box 231, Station 6 Ponce, Puerto Rico 00732 RE: Classification and marking of a shoe upper. Dear Mr. Smith: In your letter dated February 26, 1990, you requested a tariff classification ruling on a leather shoe upper, from the Dominican Republic. The submitted sample, your style name "Weebok", is an unlasted, stitched-together leather shoe upper. The upper, which has a completely open bottom, has an external surface of, you state, leather except for the foam padded polyurethane tongue and ankle collar, the tongue label, which is a rayon tape with nylon thread embroidery, and the eyelets, which are white enamel- covered aluminum. We note that you have submitted a component material breakdown which indicates that the external surface of this shoe upper is predominately leather. In addition, per our telephone conversation of 3/26/90, it is noted that there is no plastic coating present on the external surface of the leather upper component parts. Regarding the marking of the subject upper, we note that the tag on this shoe upper is marked "Made IN USA", to indicate the country of origin. In HQ's letter 725620 dated 7/11/84, it was ruled "because the importer substantially transforms the imported uppers, it is the last person in the U.S. to receive the article in the form in which it was imported. The importer thus qualifies as an `ultimate purchaser' pursuant to 19 CFR 134.1(d)". Accordingly, the imported upper may be excepted from individual marking under 19 C.F.R. 134.35. Whether or not the subject upper may be marked to indicate that it is a product of the U.S., which is clearly intended as a reference to the finished shoe, is a question which must be directed to the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Enforcement. We also note that the label bearing the "Made In USA" marking is also marked "UK" and "EUR". 19 C.F.R. 134.46 indicates that when letters which indicate a country of origin other than the true country of origin such as "UK" or "EUR", appear on an imported product, a correct country of origin marking shall appear in close proximity, in letters of at least comparable size". It is our opinion, that in the instant case, the letters "U.S.A." are "of comparable size and in close proximity to the "UK" and "EUR". Accordingly, if the Federal Trade Commission agrees that the "Made in USA" is an acceptable marking for the finished shoe, our requirements pursuant to 19 C.F.R. 134.46, would be satisfied. The applicable subheading for the shoe upper, style "Weebok" will be 6406.10.65, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for uppers which are less than "formed uppers" and whose external surface is predominately leather. The duty rate will be 3.7% ad valorem. Articles classifiable under subheading 6406.10.65, HTS, which are products of the Dominican Republic, are entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction. Sincerely, Jean F. Maguire Area Director New York Seaport