HQ 079880: Tariff classification of certain suspender pants

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 079880

                                    June 10, 1988


          CLA-2 CO:R:C:G  079880  PAM

          CATEGORY:   Classification

          TARIFF NO.:  6203.42.4045


          Gail Cumins, Esq.
          Sharretts, Paley, Carter & Blauvelt, P.C.
          Eighty Broad Street
          New York, New York 10004

          RE:  Tariff classification of certain suspender pants

          Dear Ms. Cumins:

              This is in response to your letter of March 9, 1987, in which
          you request, on behalf of your client Noel Industries, Inc., a
          classification ruling on certain suspender pants from Sri Lanka.
          You state that they are for infants; however, the submitted sam-
          ple is in a boys' size.  For purposes of classification under the
          Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS), we assume that the
          pants are to be imported in infants' sizes, i.e., for children up
          to the age of six.  Headnote 2, Part 6, Schedule 3, TSUS.  For
          purposes of classification under the proposed Harmonized Tariff
          Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), garments for children of a
          body height not over 86 centimeters are classified as babies'
          garments.  Garments such as the pants in question, which can be
          identified as men's or boys' and which are for persons over 86
          centimeters in height are classified as men's or boys'.  Our
          ruling on this merchandise follows.

          ISSUE:

              Can insubstantial suspenders be classified as composite goods
          along with the trousers that they are imported with and specially
          designed for attachment to via a hook and D ring contrivance?

          FACTS:

              The sample garment submitted for our analysis, Style 42A-986,
          is a pair of pants accompanied by adjustable suspenders designed
          to clip onto four D rings attached to the belt loops of the
          pants.  The pants, of 60 percent cotton, 40 percent polyester,
          have front pleats, side seam pockets, and two rear pockets with
          flap and button closures.  The fabric is not denim.  The suspend-
          ers are of a different woven fabric from that of the pants.  We
          assume that these articles are going to be imported together.











                                         -2-

          LAW AND ANALYSIS:

              We have reviewed your submissions of March 9 and March 13,
          1987, the sample garment, and the relevant provisions of the
          HTSUS.  In our view, this merchandise should be classified
          according to General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 3(b) to the
          proposed HTSUS as composite goods.

              Our National Import Specialist responsible for this line of
          merchandise conducted a study of these suspenders and determined
          that they lack any commercial identity.  The suspenders and pants
          are not separately marketable because of their unique hook and D
          ring connection.  Unless a normal pair of pants is significantly
          altered, the suspenders could not be used thereon.  In fact, the
          use for which these suspenders are designed is so intertwined
          with that of the trousers that they lose their independent iden-
          tity.

              In this instance, classification as composite goods is predi-
          cated upon our finding that the pants and the suspenders are
          adapted one to the other and are mutually complementary and that
          together they form a whole that could not normally be offered for
          sale in separate parts.

              GRI 3(b) requires that composite goods be classified together
          under the heading for the component that provides the combination
          with its essential character.  We conclude that the pants provide
          the essential character of these composite goods.  The pants play
          a predominant role in establishing the use of this merchandise.
          The bulk, weight, and value of the pants are additional factors
          in determining that the essential character of these composite
          goods are provided by the pants.  The pants are much bulkier,
          weigh more, and, although we have not been provided with a cost
          breakdown, are assumed to cost significantly more than the
          suspenders.

          CONCLUSION:

              For the reasons stated above, Style 42A-986 is classified
          under subheading 6203.42.4045, HTSUS Annotated (HTSUSA), textile
          category 347, which provides for men's or boys' trousers,
          dutiable at the rate of 17.7 percent ad valorem.  This
          classification represents the present position of the Customs
          Service regarding the dutiable status of the merchandise under
          the proposed HTSUSA.  If there are changes before enactment, this
          advice may not continue to be applicable.
















                                        - 3 -

              The applicable item number from the Tariff Schedules of the
          United States Annotated (TSUSA) for Style 42A-986 is the provi-
          sion for other women's, girls' or infants' wearing apparel, not
          ornamented, of cotton, not knit, trousers and slacks, item
          384.4770, textile category 347, dutiable at the rate of 16.5
          percent ad valorem.  For a discussion of the classification of
          similar merchandise as an entirety under the TSUSA see Head-
          quarters Ruling Letter 080000 dated March 10, 1988 (copy en-
          closed).

                                       Sincerely,




                                       John Durant
                                       Director,
                                       Commercial Rulings Division

          Enclosure




































          6cc:  Area Director, New York Seaport
          1cc:  Area Director, Newark
          1cc:  CITA
          1cc:  John Durant
          1cc:  NIS Bruce Kirschner
          PAMartin:jaj:6/6/88