HQ 952542: Classification of buoyant life jackets; unfinished lifejacket shell subheading 6307.90; subheading 6307.20; GRI 2(a);inflatable life jackets; foam filled life jackets; lifepreservers

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 952542

                         December 31, 1992

CLA-2  CO:R:C:T 952542 CAB

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:  6307.20.0000; 6307.90.9986

Thomas J. Schmidt
Stearns Manufacturing Co.
P.O. Box 1498
St. Cloud, Minnesota 56302

RE:  Classification of buoyant life jackets; unfinished life
jacket shell subheading 6307.90; subheading 6307.20; GRI 2(a);
inflatable life jackets; foam filled life jackets; life
preservers

Dear Mr. Schmidt:

     This letter is in response to your inquiry of August 19,
1992, requesting a tariff classification for life jackets under
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA).  Samples were submitted for examination.

FACTS:

     The merchandise in question will be manufactured in Germany,
China, Taiwan and/or Korea.  The first sample, Style 877241, is a
Personal Flotation Device (PFD) vest.  It is constructed of 100%
yellow nylon shell fabric; filled with polyethylene flotation
foam; opened at the front and side; and secured at the waist with
a textile web belt containing plastic buckles.  Because Style
877241 meets certain safety requirements mandated by the U.S.
Coast Guard, it is considered a type III Coast Guard rated safety
buoyancy device.  

     The second sample is an outer shell for use with Style
877241.  The shell is produced from 100% nylon woven fabric;
contains a zippered front; and is secured to the body with
textile web straps and plastic buckles.  The shell is unfinished
and has an opening at the bottom.  The finishing will occur when
the shell is stuffed with polyethylene flotation foam after
importation into the United States.




     The third sample, Style 877431, is an unfinished inflatable
life bladder jacket exported from Germany.  It is made of a 100%
nylon fabric with a polyurethane coating.  Style 877431 will be
completed in the United States by adding the inflation mechanism,
belts, snaps, buckles, and labels.  

     A completed inflatable life jacket has also been submitted. 
The life jacket has a U-shape; fits around the back of the neck
and comes around to the front of the chest; inflates
automatically within ten seconds of contact with the water by
means of a carbon dioxide cartridge; contains an oral inflation
valve and whistle; and is attached to the body by a textile web
belt around the waist.  

     It is important to note that there are standards for
articles to be considered life preservers in the United States
and other countries.  The U.S. Coast Guard mandates the standards
for the United States and other countries provide their own
similar standards for goods manufactured in their particular
country.  

ISSUE:

     Whether the articles in question are classifiable as life
jackets under Heading 6307, HTUSA?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Classification of goods under the HTSUSA is governed by the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's).  GRI 1 provides that
classification shall be determined according to the terms of the
headings and any relative section or chapter notes.  Merchandise
that cannot be classified in accordance with GRI 1 is to be
classified in accordance with subsequent GRI's, taken in order.

     Heading 6307, HTSUSA, provides for other made up articles,
not included more specifically elsewhere in the Nomenclature. 
The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Commodity and Description
Coding System (EN), although not legally binding, are the
official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. 
The EN to Heading 6307, HTSUSA, specifically provide for life-
jackets and life-belts under subheading 6307.20, HTSUSA.

     The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, the
Unabridged Edition (1983) defines the term "life jacket" as a
"sleeveless jacket of buoyant or inflatable construction, for
supporting the wearer in deep water and preventing him from
drowning."  The Webster's Third New International Dictionary, the
Unabridged Edition (1971) defines the term "life preserver" as a
"device (a life belt, life ring, or life vest) designed to save a
person from drowning by buoying up the body while in water."     
As stated in the dictionary, a "life preserver" is a generic term
that includes various buoyancy devices that are constructed to
save a drowning person by keeping him/her afloat.  Thus, "life
preservers" are included in the interpretation of life-jackets
and life-belts which are provided for in Heading 6307, HTSUSA.   
 
     Note 7, Section XI, HTSUSA, defines the expression "made up"
as including articles assembled by sewing, gumming or otherwise. 

     The U.S. Coast Guard standard for life preservers (46 CFR
160.055) states the following:

     This specification covers life preservers which essentially
     consist of plastic foam buoyant material arranged and
     distributed so as to provide the flotation characteristics
     and buoyancy required to hold the wearer in an upright or
     slightly backward position with head and face clear of the
     water.  The life preservers are also arranged so as to be
     reversible and are fitted with straps and hardware to
     provide proper adjustment and fit to the bodies of various
     size wearers.

     The first sample, Style 877241, which is capable of keeping
the wearer buoyant and in an upright face out-of-water position
meets both U.S. Coast Guard standards and the commonly accepted
definition of a life preserver.  Vest-type life preservers, such
as Style 877241, are commonly known as lifejackets.  Therefore,
it is within the scope of subheading 6307.20, HTSUSA.

     Even though Style 877241 complies with U.S. Coast Guard
requirements for an acceptable "life preserver", classification
in subheading 6307.20, HTSUSA, is not precluded if an article
does not conform to U.S. Coast Guard standards.  Instead,
classification of buoyancy devices is governed by the commonly
accepted definition of a life jacket as mentioned above and
stated in Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 950496 of March 5,
1992.
     
     The second sample which is an unfinished outer shell used in
conjunction with Style 877241 presents the issue of whether an
unfinished shell is provided for in subheading 6307.20.  GRI 2(a)
states that a heading refers to a particular article even if it
is unfinished or incomplete, provided that it has the essential
character of the finished article.  A similar issue was
confronted in HRL 087421 of September 7, 1990, when we determined
that the essential character of a life jacket is imparted by the
flotation material with which it is filled, since it is this
material which gives the article its basis for existence.  There,
the merchandise in question, an outer shell for a life jacket was
not classifiable in subheading 6307.20, HTSUSA.  The instant
article is also a shell for a life jacket.  It contains no
flotation material at the time of importation.  Without the
flotation material, the shell does not have the characteristic
which generally gives a life jacket its essential character.  The
shell is not capable of rendering a wearer buoyant or preventing
him/her from drowning,  Consequently, the second sample is not
classifiable in subheading 6307.20, HTSUSA.

     Style 877431, which is an unfinished inflatable life jacket
bladder has the essential character of a finished life jacket
within the meaning of GRI 2(a).  This item does not require any
type of flotation foam for buoyancy.  Instead, the item is
rendered buoyant by means of a carbon dioxide cartridge. 
Accordingly, Style 877431 falls within the purview of subheading
6307.20, HTSUSA.

     The finished life jacket, inflatable by carbon dioxide is
specifically provided for in subheading 6307.20, HTSUSA.  Thus,
it is properly classifiable under this provision.

HOLDING:

     As a result of the foregoing, Styles 877241, 877431, and the
finished inflatable life jacket are classifiable in subheading
6307.20.0000, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles,
lifejackets and life-belts.  The applicable rate of duty is 9
percent ad valorem.  There is no textile restraint category.  The
life jacket shell is classifiable in subheading 6307.90.9986,
HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles.

                                   Sincerely,



                                   John Durant
                                   Director, Commercial Rulings