The tariff classification of footwear from China

N162736 May 26, 2011 CLA-2-64:OT:RR:NC:N4:447 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 6405.90.9000 Ms. Jane A. Sheridan Brown Shoe Company, Inc. 8300 Maryland Avenue St. Louis, MO 63105-3693 RE: The tariff classification of footwear from China Dear Ms. Sheridan: In your letter dated April 25, 2011 you requested a tariff classification ruling. The submitted half-pair sample identified as pattern #242719, is a boy’s pull-on rainboot with a rubber upper. The upper features two pull-on “loops” on either side of the topline and a Spider-Man® logo glued to its lateral side. You state that the plastic outer sole contains “bonded leather” comprised of a minimum of 75% leather material which has been chopped, combined with cement and pressed into sheets, thereby constituting composition leather for tariff classification purposes. You claim that this composition leather is the constituent material having the greatest surface area in contact with the ground and suggest classification under subheading 6405.90.9000, HTSUS. We agree with this classification, however, not with the bonded leather process described by you. Visual examination under magnification reveals the existence of fibrous material which appears to have been applied to the outer sole using a “flocking” process. The applicable subheading for pattern #242719 will be 6405.90.9000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for other footwear: other: other. The rate of duty will be 12.5% ad valorem. 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/. The submitted sample is not marked with the country of origin. Therefore, if imported as is, it will not meet the country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Accordingly, the footwear would be considered not legally marked under the provisions of 19 C.F.R. 134.11 which states, "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 container) will permit, in such manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article." 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