us-cbp-cross-rulings-hq-081978•HQ 081978: Disposable Surgical Drapes
HQ 081978: Disposable Surgical Drapes
us-cbp-cross-rulings-hq-081978HQ 081978: Disposable Surgical DrapesGuidance
Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.
HQ 081978
December 22,1989
CLA-2 CO:R:C:G: 081978 JLJ
CATEGORY: Classification
TARIFF NO: 3926.90.90; 4818.90.00
Lynn S. Baker, Esq.
Katten, Muchin & Zavis
525 West Monroe Street, Suite 1600
Chicago, Illinois 60603-3693
RE: Disposable Surgical Drapes
Dear Ms. Baker:
You requested tariff classification rulings under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA) for an eye drape, No. 8441, and an under buttocks
drape (otherwise known as UBD), No. 8750, assembled in Mexico
of United States components for your client, Convertors
Division of Baxter Healthcare Corporation of El Paso, Texas.
You submitted samples of both along with your request. You
state that the UBD is fully dutiable. Inasmuch as you did not
ask about the applicability of Chapter 98, HTSUSA, to the eye
drape, we will not discuss it here.
FACTS:
The eye drape, No. 8441, is a rectangular surgical drape
which has a circular piece removed from the middle of the
product in the shape of an eye. It is used as a cover in eye
surgery. It is made of a product known as Dexter 3557, which
you state is made of wood pulp and polyester fibers. You
state that Dexter 3557 is, by weight, more than half pulp and
a smaller amount of polyester fibers. Customs Laboratory
Report No. 2-88-10452-001 of February 25, 1988, states that the
Dexter 3557 appears to have been made on a paper-making machine
with an attachment necessitated by the long polyester fibers.
-2-
The Dexter 3557 is laminated with a polyethylene copolymer
blend in a cast extrusion process which accomplishes the
lamination through heat and pressure. The Dexter 3557 is
thicker than the extruded lamination. The resulting material is
known as Clopay 4557 and is sold to Convertors for assembly
into the eye drape.
The Mini UBD Prep Pad 8750 (UBD) is used in obstetrical
procedures. It is a rectangle which is folded over to form an
open pocket at one end. It is made of a product known as
Scott 3030 which consists, by weight, of more than half paper
base sheet and a smaller amount of EVA emulsion (binder) to
increase the sheet's strength.
The Scott 3030 is then laminated with a polyethylene
laminate in a cast embossed extrusion process which laminates
through heat and pressure. The Scott 3030 thus becomes Clopay
303024. It is manufactured into the UBD in Mexico.
The UBD's components are, by weight, a small amount of
paper base sheet and more than half polyethylene laminate.
ISSUE:
What are the classifications of the UBD and eye drape?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
You believe that both products are classified as other
hospital articles of paper in subheading 4818.90.0000, HTSUSA,
because you think that they are essentially paper materials
laminated with plastic. General Rule of Interpretation (GRI)
3(b), HTSUSA, states that "...composite goods consisting of
different materials or made up of different components...shall
be classified as if they consisted of the material or component
which gives them their essential charcter...." You state that
the purpose of the non-plastic part of the drapes is to absorb
fluids while the plastic acts as a final barrier to prevent
leakage of fluids through the drapes. Inasmuch as you feel
that the absorbency gives both drapes their essential
character, you feel that both products should be classified as
paper products in Chapter 48, HTSUSA.
-3-
The Explanatory Notes for Chapter 48, HTSUSA, define paper
as follows:
Paper consists essentially of the
cellulosic fibers of the pulp of
Chapter 47 felted together in
sheet form. Many products, such
as certain tea-bag materials,
consist of a mixture of these
cellulosic fibers and of textile
fibers and of textile fibers (in
particular man-made fibers as
defined by Note 1 to chapter 54).
Where the textile fibers predominate
by weight, the products are not
regarded as papers and are
classified as nonwovens.
Following the Explanatory Notes, the wood pulp predominates by
weight over the polyester fibers in Dexter 3557; therefore, the
material is a paper classified in Chapter 48.
The Dexter 3557 is then laminated with a polyethyene
copolymer blend (i.e., a laminate of plastic) to become Clopay
4557. The Dexter 3557 is thicker than the plastic laminate.
The Scott 3030 is a paper which is laminated with a
polyethylene laminate (i.e., a laminate of plastic) to become
Clopay 303024.
GRI 1 states that "...for legal purposes, classification
shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and
any relative section or chapter notes...." Chapter Note 1(f)
of Chapter 48, HTSUSA, states that "This chapter does not
cover...paper-reinforced stratified sheeting of plastics, or
one layer of paper or paperboard coated or covered with a layer
of plastics, the latter constituting more than half the total
thickness, or articles of such materials...."
-4-
Chapter Note 1(f) of Chapter 48, supra, indicates that the
classification of both the UBD and the eye drape depend upon
the thickness of the plastic laminate in the Clopay 303024 and
the Clopay 4557. The thickness of the Dexter 3557 is greater
than that of the plastic laminate; therefore the Clopay 4557 is
classifiable as an article of paper in Chapter 48, HTSUSA. If
the plastic laminate on the Clopay 303024 constitutes more than
half the total thickness, then the UBD will be classified as
an article of plastic in Chapter 39, HTSUSA. If the plastic
laminate does not constitute more than half the total
thickness, then the UBD will be classified as an article of
paper in Chapter 48, HTSUSA.
HOLDINGS:
If the plastic laminate on the UBD constitutes more than
half the total thickness of the material, then the UBD is
classified under the provision for other articles of plastics:
other: other, in subheading 3926.90.90, dutiable at the rate of
5.3 percent ad valorem. Products of Mexico classified in this
subheading are eligible for duty-free entry under the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) if all applicable
regulations are met.
If the plastic laminate on the UBD constitutes half or
less than half of the total thickness of the material, then the
UBD is classified under the provision for hospital articles of
paper: other, in subheading 4818.90.00, HTSUSA, dutiable at the
rate of 3 percent ad valorem. Products of Mexico classified in
this subheading are eligible for duty-free entry under the GSP
if all applicable regulations are met.
Since the thickness of the Dexter 3557 is greater than
that of the plastic laminate in the Clopay 4557 eye drape, the
eye drape is classified under the provision for hospital
articles of paper: other, in subheading 4818.90.00, HTSUSA,
duitable at the rate of 3 percent ad valorem. Products of
Mexico classified in this subheading are eligible for duty-free
entry under GSP if all applicable regulations are met.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division
6 cc: Area Dir., N.Y. Seaport (NIS-234 and NIS-343)
1 cc: D.D., El Paso, Texas
hensley library
J. Johnson 081978a
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