The tariff classification of a CHEDDAR Cheese from Latvia.

NY 869966 February 11, 1992 CLA-2-04:S:N:N1:229-869966 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 0406.90.1040 (9904.10.30) Mr. Jon Bailey A. V. Olsson Trading Co., Inc. P.O. Box 11149 Greenwich, CT 06831-1149 RE: The tariff classification of a CHEDDAR Cheese from Latvia. Dear Mr. Bailey: In your letter dated December 18, 1991, you requested a tariff classification ruling. You describe the cheese in question as having been made in a process "identical to a standard Cheddar cheese process." A sample, submitted with your letter, was said to contain about 40 percent butterfat, by weight, in the dry matter and about 38 percent moisture. This sample was in the form of a rindless loaf about 8.5 centimeters (3-3/8 inches) high and 12 centimeters (4- 3/4 inches) wide. The cheese, semi-hard, with a uniform, yellow color throughout and a Cheddary taste, had a well-knit interior with scattered small openings. An analysis of this sample by the Customs Laboratory at New York indicates that this cheese consisted, by weight, of 43.9 percent moisture, 22.6 percent fat (40.3 percent on a dry basis), 29.7 percent protein, and 1.9 percent salt, with a pH of 5.95. The cheese was found to be made from cow's milk. The applicable subheading for this CHEDDAR Cheese will be 0406.90.1040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for Other cheese:...Cheddar cheese...Other. The rate of duty will be 12 percent ad valorem. Articles classifiable in HTS subheading 0406.90.1040 are subject to quota quantity restrictions listed in subchapter IV of Chapter 99 in HTS subheading 9904.10.30, which limits the amount of such cheese which may be imported from countries (including Latvia) with no specific quota allocation to an annual quota quantity of 139,889 kilograms. Additionally, an import license, issued to the importer by the United States Department of Agriculture, will be required at the time such merchandise is entered for consumption into the United States. Questions regarding licensing procedures and applications for license to import cheese subject to quota should be addressed to: Head, Dairy and Import Group Dairy, Livestock and Poultry Division Foreign Agricultural Service U.S. Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250 This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction. Sincerely, Jean F. Maguire Area Director New York Seaport