HQ 082815: Classification of Propylene Glycol Alginate

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 082815

                          July 12, 1989



CLA-2  CO:R:C:G  082815 JBW

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.:    3913.10.0000

Mr. L. L. Barnhart
Manager, Import Section
Transportation Department
Hercules Incorporated
Hercules Plaza
Wilmington, DE 19894

RE:  Classification of Propylene Glycol Alginate

Dear Mr. Barnhart:

          Your letter of August 12, 1988, on behalf of Hercules
Incorporated, addressed to our New York office, has been referred
to this office for reply concerning the classification of
propylene glycol alginate under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States Annotated (HTSUSA).

FACTS:

          Propylene glycol alginate is a single compound formed
when alginic acid, derived from brown seaweed, is reacted with
propylene oxide.  The resulting compound falls within a number of
functional groups, namely esters, ethers, and unreacted free
acids.  Propylene glycol alginate has many properties that give
it a wide range of applications, particularly in the food
industry.

ISSUE:

          What is the appropriate classification for propylene
glycol alginate under the HTSUSA?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

          The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) set forth
the manner in which merchandise is to be classified under the
HTSUSA.  GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first
according to the terms of the headings of the tariff and any
relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required,
according to the remaining GRI's, taken in order.

          The HTSUSA provides for classification of alginic
acid, its salts and esters, under subheading  3913.10.00.  The
Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at
the international level, include propylene glycol alginate as an
ester of alginic acid.  The Explanatory Notes, therefore,
specifically provide for classification of propylene glycol
alginate under this heading.

HOLDING:

          Propylene glycol alginate is classified under
subheading 3913.10.00, HTSUSA, as a natural polymer, alginic
acid, its salts and esters, with a duty of 4.2 percent ad
valorem.



                              Sincerely,



                              John Durant, Director
                              Commercial Rulings Division