Request for information regarding the classification and marking of a shoe bag.

N110433 July 16, 2010 CLA-2-42:OT:RR:NC:N4:447 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 4202.92.3031 Mr. Michael S. McCullough Vandegrift Forwarding Company, Inc. 9317 Chesire Road Sunbury, OH 43074 RE:  Request for information regarding the classification and marking of a shoe bag. Dear Mr. McCullough:In your ruling request received by this office on June 16, 2010 on behalf of your client Puma North America, Inc., you request information concerning the classification, country of origin and fiber content marking requirements of a shoe bag. Your request concerns only the treatment of this shoe bag when imported by itself and together with a pair of Puma® shoes. You provided a sample of the shoes, cardboard insert and bag that will be imported. You identify the shoe bag as “Clever Little Bag,” which is composed of non-woven polypropylene (PP) textile material and measures approximately 7” (W) x 12” (H) x 4” (D). It includes a cardboard insert similar to the bottom of a traditional shoebox. It will be used as a new type of packaging material for shipping shoes and is intended to reduce the amount of cardboard used in traditional shoebox-type packaging. You question whether the bag will be considered packaging or a composite good when imported together with a pair of shoes, and whether it will require separate classification as its own article. You state that the bag is slightly larger than the pair of shoes it will be imported with and would not easily accommodate additional items; is not likely to be sold as an independent product for carrying various other personal effects and is intended to provide protection for the shoes during shipment and retail sale. It also features a prominent “Puma®” logo on its front and back. GRI 3(b) provides for composite goods made up of different components. Explanatory Note IX to GRI 3(b) provides that composite goods can consist of separable components, provided these components are adapted to one another and are mutually complementary and that together they form a whole, which would not normally be offered for sale separately. The shoes and bag are a composite good as that term is defined and applied in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, (HTSUS). In this case, the components are separable and adapted to be used together. This bag would not likely be sold as an independent product for carrying various other personal effects (as would a backpack, fanny bag or shoulder bag). Although shoes are not always sold with a shoe bag, placement of the shoes in this bag after they’re sold will keep the pair together and protect them and other personal effects (from dirt that the shoes pick up) during travel. The “Puma®” logo, featured on the bag is another indication of the bag’s primary purpose. In this regard, the shoes and bag together form a composite article classified according to GRI 3(b). Composite goods are classified according to the component which gives them their essential character. Therefore, a pair of shoes accompanied by the type of bag as the one you have submitted will constitute a composite article classifiable with the rate applicable to the classification of the shoes. The applicable subheading of the shoe bag when imported by itself will be 4202.92.3031, HTSUS, which provides for travel, sports and similar bags, with outer surface of textile materials, other, of man-made fibers, other. The duty rate will be 17.6 percent ad valorem. You have also asked this office to rule on whether the shoe bag requires a country of origin and fiber content marking.The "Puma" logo imprinted textile shoe bag is not marked with the country of origin. The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. Therefore, if imported as is, the submitted shoe bag would not meet the country of origin marking requirement of the marking statute and will be considered not legally marked. Please note that separate Federal Trade Commission marking requirements exist regarding fiber content and other information that must appear on many textile items. You should contact the Federal Trade Commission, Division of Enforcement, 6th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20580, for information on the applicability of these requirements to this item. Information can also be found at the FTC website www.ftc.gov (click on "For Business" and then on "Textile, Wool, Fur"). 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 Stacey Kalkines at 646-733-3042. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division