The tariff classification of holiday wooden card holders from China

N233142 September 25, 2012 CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:2:230 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 4420.10.0000 Ms. Alice Liu Atico International USA, Inc. 501 A. Andrews Ave. Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301 RE: The tariff classification of holiday wooden card holders from China Dear Ms. Liu: In your letter, dated September 10, 2012, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The ruling was requested on “Christmas Wooden Card Holder Table Decoration”, item A072AA11907. Photographs of the three styles, Santa, Snowman, and Penguin, were submitted for our review. The card holder is a tabletop decoration consisting of painted wood and iron wire. The two-dimensional painted figures of a Santa Claus, a snowman, and a penguin each “hold”, with their “hand”, a wire rod that is shaped into a coil at its upper end. Holiday cards or photographs can be inserted between the coil curves for display. You state that the card holders are composed of 95 percent wood and 5 percent iron wire. Although the card holders are marketed for holiday use, they have a utilitarian function in the display of cards and photographs. Articles having a utilitarian function are specifically excluded from classification in Chapter 95 by Legal Note 1(v) to Chapter 95. They are therefore classifiable by their constituent material. The card holders are composite goods made up of multiple materials – wood and metal wire – that are classifiable in different headings. General Rule of Interpretation 3(b), Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, (HTSUS), states that composite goods are to be classified according to the material or component that gives them their essential character. The essential character of the subject card holders is imparted by the wood, which predominates in bulk and weight, and which gives each its visual impact and consumer appeal. The applicable subheading for the holiday card holders will be 4420.10.0000, HTSUS, which provides for Wood marquetry and inlaid wood; caskets and cases for jewelry or cutlery and similar articles, of wood; statuettes and other ornaments, of wood; wooden articles of furniture not falling within chapter 94: Statuettes and other ornaments, of wood. The rate of duty will be 3.2 percent 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/. 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 Laurel Duvall at (646) 733-3035. Sincerely, Thomas J. Russo Director National Commodity Specialist Division