The tariff classification of plastic hangers

N033450 August 8, 2008 CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N2:221 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 3923.90.0080 Ms. Anita Lee Marubeni America Corporation 375 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10017-5644 RE: The tariff classification of plastic hangers Dear Ms. Lee: In your letter dated July 14, 2008, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The samples which you submitted are being returned as requested. Four sample hangers were submitted with your request. All are molded of clear plastics and all incorporate metal swivel top hooks for hanging over a garment rod. All are of substantial construction, with ridges measuring 3/8 inch in width. Style 484 is a 17 inch top hanger with two protective foam pieces stretched over the right and left ends of the hanger. This style is designed to hold blouses, shirts and jackets. Styles 6012, 6212 and 6312 are 12 inch bottom hangers which incorporate pinch clips that operate by means of a metal spring to secure shorts, pants, or skirts. Style 6212 has protective plastic strips inside each side of the pinch clips to prevent hanger marks on the garments. Style 6312 has an additional pinch clip in the middle of the hanger below the swivel hook. You state that the hangers have been constructed in a substantial manner and made in accordance with the VICS "Floor Ready Hanger Program." In response to the mandates of the "floor ready" and "hanger recovery" programs employed by retailers and imposed on their vendors, garment manufacturers are responsible for purchasing hangers made to specifications and shipping garments on the specified hangers. Garments arrive at the retail stores ready to be hung directly on the selling floor. Hangers of substantial construction may be reused for international and domestic shipment of other apparel articles. You state that the hangers are made in various Asian countries including Indonesia, Vietnam and China. The rate of duty provided below is applicable to shipments from countries with which the United States has Normal Trade Relations. The applicable subheading for the hangers, styles 484, 6012, 6212 and 6312, will be 3923.90.0080, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics…other. The rate of duty will be 3 percent ad valorem.       You also ask whether the hangers, which will be imported with the garments hung on them, can be classified separately from the garments. General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 5(b) of the HTSUS provides that, subject to the provisions of GRI 5(a), packing materials and packing containers entered with the goods therein shall be classified with the goods if they are of a kind normally used for packing such goods. However, this provision is not binding when such materials or packing containers are clearly suitable for repetitive use. Styles 484, 6012, 6212 and 6312 are substantially similar to the hangers that were the subject of HQ 964963, 964964 and 964948, all dated June 19, 2001. Those hangers, which were used in hanger recovery systems, were ruled to be of sufficiently substantial construction to be suitable for repetitive use for the conveyance of goods. Thus, the hangers submitted with your request, styles 484, 6012, 6212 and 6312, are classifiable separately in subheading 3923.90.0080, HTSUS, even when imported with garments. Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Joan Mazzola at (646) 733-3023. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division