HQ 958624: I/A 34/95; Automotive Airbag, Unfinished, Airbag of Man-Made Fabric With Rectangular Steel Frame Opening Assembled and Packagedin Mexico; Airbag Minus Inflator Module; TextileCover for Automotive Airbag, Parts and Accessories of Motor Vehicles; Other Made-Up Textile Articles,Heading 6307; GRI 3(a)

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 958624

FEBRUARY 21, 1996

CLA-2 RR:TC:MM 958624 JAS

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 8708.99.80

Port Director of Customs
9777 Via De La Amistad
San Ysidro, CA 92173

RE: I/A 34/95; Automotive Airbag, Unfinished, Airbag of Man-Made Fabric With
Rectangular Steel Frame Opening Assembled and Packaged
in Mexico; Airbag Minus Inflator Module; Textile
Cover for Automotive Airbag, Parts and
Accessories of Motor Vehicles; Other Made-Up Textile Articles,
Heading 6307; GRI 3(a)

Dear Port Director:

Your memorandum of June 29, 1995, forwarded a request
for Internal Advice, dated June 8, 1995, from the broker for
Automotive Safety Components, Inc., on the tariff classification
of automotive airbags and covers, assembled in Mexico with
materials and components of United States origin. Samples were
submitted. There is no issue raised under the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

FACTS:

The model 272 automotive airbag is a textile article
with rectangular steel frame retainer at the open end, packaged
in cellophane. It is made from textile fabric cut and stitched
into the form of a bag, then assembled with the steel frame. It
has two small holes to accommodate an inflator module which is
added after importation. The airbag with inflator module
constitutes an airbag assembly. The second article is a textile
cover for the airbag, designated model X-300. The cover is of
stitched textile fabric, nearly 26 inches in diameter with a 4-inch diameter hole in the middle and two smaller holes,
presumably to accommodate the inflator module. Both the airbag
and cover are sold to original equipment manufacturers for use in
passenger vehicles. Both the textile fabric and steel frame are
of United States origin. - 2 -

The importer states that both the airbag and cover are
mandatory safety items required by Department of Transportation
regulations. They are parts and accessories solely or
principally used with passenger automobiles, classifiable in
subheading 8708.99.61, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS).

Your office believes the textile article with steel frame is
not an airbag in and of itself, but part of an airbag. As there
is no provision for parts of airbags, you recommend the provision
for other parts and accessories of motor vehicles, in subheading
8708.99.80, HTSUS. You also maintain the textile cover is a
made-up textile article classifiable in 6307.90.99, HTSUS.

The provisions under consideration are as follows:

6307 Other made-up articles...:

6307.90 Other:

6307.99.99 Other...7 percent ad
valorem

* * * *

8708 Parts and accessories of the motor
vehicles of headings 8701 to
8705:

8708.99 Other:

8708.99.61 Airbags...2.9 percent
ad valorem

8708.99.80 Other...2.9 percent ad
valorem

ISSUE:

Whether the airbag without inflator module is an automotive
airbag, or an automotive part or accessory; whether the textile
cover is a made-up textile article or a part of heading 8708.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in accordance with the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 states in part
that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined
according to the terms of the headings and any relative section
or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not
require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6. Pursuant - 3 -

to GRI 3(a), where goods are prima facie classifiable under two
or more headings, the heading which provides the most specific
description shall be preferred to headings providing a more
general description.

The Harmonized Commodity Description And Coding System
Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of
the Harmonized System. While not legally binding, and therefore
not dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of
each heading of the Harmonized System and are thus useful in
ascertaining
the classification of merchandise under the System. Customs
believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54
Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).

As to whether the textile article with steel frame or
retainer is an airbag for tariff purposes, terms that are not
defined in the text of the HTSUS or in the ENs, are normally
interpreted in accordance with their common and commercial
meanings, which are presumed to be the same. The term airbag is
commonly defined as an automatically inflating bag in front of
riders in an automobile to protect them from pitching forward
into solid parts in case of an accident. We conclude the textile
article with steel frame opening or retainer, is not an airbag
within this definition, as it requires the inflator module to
function properly. Therefore, subheading 8708.99.61 does not
apply.

As to whether the textile article with steel frame opening
or retainer is an automotive part or accessory, relevant ENs at
pp.1410 and 1432 state that heading 87.08 covers parts and
accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 87.01 to 87.05,
provided they fulfill both the following conditions:

(a) They must not be excluded by Note 2 to Section
XVII;

(b) They must be identifiable as being suitable for use
solely
or principally with the articles of
Chapters 86 to 88; and

The textile article with steel frame or retainer meets these
criteria. Accordingly, it is provided for in heading 8708 as
other parts and accessories of motor vehicles.

We conclude that the textile cover meets the description in
the heading 87.08 ENs cited above, and qualifies as a part or
accessory of that heading. However, the textile cover is also a
textile article. Heading 6307 provides for other made up
[textile] articles. This heading covers made up articles of any
textile material which are not included more specifically in
other headings of Section XI or elsewhere in the Nomenclature.
Heading 8708, on the other hand, covers a more limited class of - 4 -

articles, textile or otherwise, that are parts and accessories
for the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705. We conclude
that under GRI 3(a), heading 8708 provides a more specific
description for the textile cover than does heading 6307.

HOLDING:

Under the authority of GRI 1, the textile article with steel
frame opening or retainer, model 272, and the textile cover,
model X-300, are provided for in heading 8708. They are
classifiable in subheading 8708.99.80, HTSUS.

You should mail this decision to the internal advice
applicant, through its broker, no later than 60 days from the
date of this letter. On that date the Office of Regulations and
Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to Customs
personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and to the public
via the Diskette Subscription Service, the Freedom of Information
Act, and other public access channels.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification
Appeals Division

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