The tariff classification of CHESHIRE cheese from Wales.

NY 852725 August 2, 1990 CLA-2-04:S:N:N1:229 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 0406.90.8060 (9904.10.54) Mr. William S. Hennings, General Manager Swissrose International, Inc. 659 New County Road Secaucus, NJ 07094 RE: The tariff classification of CHESHIRE cheese from Wales. Dear Mr. Hennings: In your letter dated May 16, 1990, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The cheese in question is described as CHESHIRE cheese, which will be imported in blocks for industrial uses. This cheese is said to be made from cow's milk with a composition, by weight, of moisture (41.5 percent), butterfat (35 to 36 percent), butterfat on a dry basis (59 to 60 percent), and salt (2 percent), with a pH of 4.85. A sample cheese had a uniformly pale, white color. The curd did not appear to be tightly knit, and the cheese interior had an open, crumbly texture. The sample had a slightly bitter taste. A Laboratory Report, prepared by the Customs Laboratory at New York, found the sample to contain, by weight, 41.5 percent moisture, 32.0 percent butterfat (54.6 percent on a dry basis), and 21.4 percent protein. The pH of the cheese was 5.2. A microscopic examination of the sample revealed no signs of thick seams or curd orientation indicative of a cheddaring process, and no evidence of the curd having being stirred (as a granular cheese), nor washed. The applicable subheading for this CHESHIRE cheese will be 0406.90.8060, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for Other (Cheese and cheese curd), not specially provided for, containing cow's milk. The rate of duty will be 10 percent ad valorem. Articles classifiable in HTS subheading 0406.90.8060 are subject to quota quantity restrictions listed in subchapter IV of Chapter 99 in HTS subheading 9904.10.54, which limits the amount of such cheese which may be imported from the European Economic Community to an annual quota quantity of 20,456,000 kilograms (of which 353,000 are reserved for Portugal). Additionally, an import license, issued to the importer by the United States Department of Agriculture, will be required at the time such merchandise is entered for consumption into the United States. 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