HQ 083889: Classification of women's woven blouses, your case number HK 150/88

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 083889

                                  June 16, 1989


      CLA-2 CO:R:C:G  083889  CMR

      CATEGORY: Classification

      TARIFF NO.: 384.2745

      Ms. Doreen Wai
      Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office
      British Embassy
      1233 20th Street, N.W.
      Suite 504
      Washington, D.C.  20036

      RE: Classification of women's woven blouses, your case number
          HK 150/88

      Dear Ms. Wai:

           This ruling is in response to your letter of March 3, 1989,
      requesting classification of women's woven blouses.

      FACTS:

           The garments at issue, women's woven blouses, were shipped to
      J.F.K. Airport for G. R. Fashion Group in the Fall of 1988.  Since
      the garments were entered in 1988, the classification is based on the
      Tariff Schedules of the United States Annotated (TSUSA).

           The garments are claimed to be 61 percent silk, 36 percent
      cotton, and 3 percent nylon.  A sample blouse was tested by the
      Customs laboratory.  The blouse was style #M926R.  It was found to be
      composed, in its entirety, of 48.4 percent silk, 47.7 percent cotton,
      and 3.9 percent man-made fiber.  The shell alone was determined to be
      81.7 percent silk and 18.3 percent cotton.

           The results of a test by CMA Testing and Certification
      Laboratories were submitted.  They identified the garment tested as
      "one (1) piece of woven wear in green colour with embroidery on it
      said to be Ladies' Woven Blouse 61% Silk 36% Cotton 3% Nylon with
      Article No. 1/89 and Style No. M926R."  Their test results showed the
      overall composition of the garment, excluding buttons, to be 59.2
      percent silk, 31.4 percent cotton, 3.7 percent acetate, 3.5 percent
      P.U., 1.1 percent nylon, and 1.1 percent rayon.











                                       -2-


      ISSUE:

           Is the sample blouse, style #M926R, classifiable as a silk
      blouse or as a silk blouse subject to cotton restraints?

      LAW AND ANALYSIS:

           Schedule 3, Statistical Note 3(a)(ii), TSUSA, provides:

           (a) The term "Subject to cotton restraints" refers to--

           (ii) articles in which the cotton with wool and/or man-made
                fibers in the aggregate equal or exceed 50 percent by
                weight of the component fibers thereof and the cotton
                component equals or exceeds the weight of each of the total
                wool and/or total man-made fiber components (bold added).

           According to the Customs laboratory report, the garment is 47.7
      percent cotton and 3.9 percent man-made fibers.  Added together, the
      cotton and man-made fibers equal 51.6 percent of the garment.  This
      exceeds the silk component by 3.2 percent.  The garment is therefore
      subject to cotton restraints as defined in the Statistical Note
      3(a)(ii) quoted above.

      HOLDING:

           The garment is classified as a women's ornamented woven blouse
      subject to cotton restraints in item 384.2745, textile category 341,
      dutiable at 8 percent ad valorem.

           The Import Specialist at J.F.K. Airport acted properly by
      requiring a visa for category 341.


                                      Sincerely,



                                      John Durant, Director
                                      Commercial Rulings Division





















      6cc: Area Director, New York Seaport
      1cc: CITA
      1cc: Legal Reference Section
      1cc: Phil Robins