The tariff classification of Chamois d'Or Cheese fromFrance.

NY 881217 January 29, 1993 CLA-2-04:S:N:N7:229-881217 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 0406.90.8060 (9904.10.54) Bongrain Cheese U.S.A. 400 S. Custer Avenue New Holland, PA 17557 RE: The tariff classification of Chamois d'Or Cheese from France. Dear Mr. Bongrain: In your letter, received by this office on December 9, 1992, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The cheese in question is in the form of a wheel, approximately 23.5 centimeters (about 9.25 inches) in diameter and 4.5 centimeters (about 1.75 inches) in height. The exterior of the cheese is covered with a white, papery mold. The interior of the cheese is pale yellow in color, with a smooth, paste consistency. Chamois d'Or is a pressed cheese. It does not ripen from the surface to the center, and is not a soft-ripening variety. An analysis of the sample by the Customs Laboratory at New York indicates that this cheese contains 46.3 percent moisture (67.8 percent of the non fatty matter), 31.8 percent butterfat (58.2 percent on a dry basis), 22.4 percent protein and 1.4 percent salt, with a pH of 7.0. The cheese was found to be made from cow's milk. The applicable subheading for Chamois d'Or will be 0406.90.6080, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for Cheese and curd:...Other cheese:...Other cheeses, and subsitutes for cheese, including mixtures of the above:...Other, including mixtures of the above:...Other...Other:...Other:...Other. 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 20,456,00 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