The tariff classification of plastic clothes hangers from China

N085192 December 8, 2009 CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N4:421 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 3923.90.0080 Ms. Jeannine Greener Eddie Bauer, Inc. 10401 NE 8th Street, Suite 500 Bellevue, WA 98004 RE: The tariff classification of plastic clothes hangers from China Dear Ms. Greener: In your letter dated November 13, 2009, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The sample provided with your letter is an 18 inch outerwear top hanger, style AT45. The hanger is molded of plastics in a contoured shape that is solid at the top and sides and hollow at its underside. It has a swivel metal top hook. The thickness of the hanger ranges from 1 ¼ inches at its midpoint flaring out to 2 inches at each end. There is a 17 ½ inch cross piece at the bottom connecting the open ends of the hanger. The hangers will be imported with outerwear jackets and blazers to help maintain the shape of the shoulders. You state that when the garments are sold in retail stores, the plastic hangers will be removed and replaced with wooden hangers. When the garments are sold through online sales or catalog orders, the hangers remain on the garments until they reach the final consumers. The sample is being returned as you requested. The applicable subheading for hanger style AT45 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, other. The rate of duty will be 3 percent ad valorem. You ask whether the hangers are separately classifiable from the apparel when they are imported holding the apparel. 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. The hangers submitted with your request 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. You have asked whether the hangers are separately classifiable from the garments since your company does not reuse the hangers for repetitive shipments. In HQ 964963 Headquarters noted that “actual reuse of the hangers is not necessary as long as the hangers are substantial and are of the class or kind of goods used for the conveyance of garments.” Hanger style AT45 was the subject of NY Ruling N011595, dated June 20, 2007. The inquirer in that case stated that the hangers were used in a recycling program that redistributes the hangers for subsequent shipments of garments. Thus, hanger style AT45 is suitable for repetitive use for the conveyance of goods and may be classified separately in subheading 3923.90.0080, HTSUS, even when imported with garments, and even when not actually used for repetitive conveyance of goods. 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