The tariff classification of BUTTERK?

NY 887913 August 06, 1993 CLA-2-04:S:N:N7:229-887913 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 0406.90.8060 (9904.10.54) Ms. Margaret Eckert Director of Trade Relations CMA - German Agricultural Marketing Board 950 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 RE: The tariff classification of BUTTERK?SE, ("German CREAM Cheese 45 %") from Germany. Dear Ms. Eckert: In your letter dated July 1, 1993, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of Milchwerk Jager GmbH & Co. KG. in Bavaria, Germany. The product in question is designated German CREAM Cheese 45% ("Deutscher Butterk„se"). The cheese is described as a semi-firm slicing cheese which will be imported in loaves of 30 cm (12 inches) in length by 10 cm (4 inches) in height by 10 cm (4 inches) in width, each loaf vacuum packed in a cryovac bag and weighing approximately 3 kilograms (6 pounds, 10 ounces). A sample, submitted with this inquiry, consisted of a rindless, pale yellow cheese with a smooth, firm, well-knit curd with few mechanical openings. The cheese had a mild, creamy taste. The cheese is said to be made from cow's milk and to contain, by weight, 46 percent moisture, 26 percent butterfat (48 percent butterfat on a dry basis), 54 percent total solids and 1 percent salt, with a pH of 5.3. An analysis by the Customs Laboratory at New York indicates that a sample cheese contained, by weight, 39.1 percent moisture, 29.2 percent butterfat (47.9 percent in the dry matter), 29.9 percent protein and 1.7 percent salt, with a pH of 5.1. The applicable subheading for this BUTTERK?SE (German CREAM Cheese 45 %), will be 0406.90.8060, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for Cheese and curd:...Other cheese:...Other cheeses, and substitutes for cheese, including mixtures of the above:...Other, including mixtures of the above:...Other...Other:...Other:...Containing cow's milk (except soft-ripened cow's milk cheese). 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 kilograms 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