The tariff classification of cream curd with rum-soaked raisins, smoked process cheese with ham, and cream cheese from Russia.Dear Ms. Golovan:

NY K86748 June 25, 2004 CLA-2-04:RR:NC:2:231 K86748 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 0406.10.8400; 0406.10.8800; 0406.30.7300; 0406.30.7500; 2106.90.6400; 2106.90.6600 Ms. Olga Golovan Fermina Consulting, Inc. 4114 Highland Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11224 RE: The tariff classification of cream curd with rum-soaked raisins, smoked process cheese with ham, and cream cheese from Russia. Dear Ms. Golovan: In your letter, dated June 9, 2004, on behalf of Mayak, Inc., Brooklyn, NY, you requested a tariff classification on certain cheeses. These cheeses are described, as indicated below. Slivochniy Tvorozhok Karat is comprised of cream curd with rum-soaked raisins, containing, by weight, 60 percent moisture and 10 percent fat. The ingredients are listed as cow’s milk curds (37 percent), curdled cream (35 percent), granulated sugar (16 percent), rum-soaked raisins (11 percent), and 1 percent stabilizer (starch, apple pectin, carob-tree gum). During the manufacturing process, the dairy ingredients are combined, mixed with the other ingredients, then stirred, heated, cooled and packaged. A sample cheese consisted of a white, paste-like cream with raisins, packaged in a plastic cup of 150 grams, net. Syr Kopcheniy s Okorokom is a smoked process cheese, with 52 percent moisture, by weight, and 40 percent fat in the dry matter. The ingredients are said to be cow’s milk curds (39.2 percent), hard, Edam-type, rennet cheeses, such as Hollandish, Kostromskoy, and Poshekhonskiy with 45 percent fat in the dry matter (19.6 percent) , butter (13 percent), whole milk powder (9.8 percent), nonfat, cow’s milk cheese (7.8 percent), ham (5 percent), water (3.29 percent), and a small amount (2.31 percent) of emulsifying salts. The finished processed cheese is cured with natural beech smoke in a smoking-shed. A sample cheese consisted of a yellow, sausage-shaped roll, about 6 inches in length, and 2-¾ inches in diameter. Divniy Cream Cheese. The product contains, by weight, 60 percent fat in the dry matter. The ingredients are listed as 33.5 percent, each, of cow’s milk cheese curds and sour cream, percent butter (13 percent), vegetable fat (8.45 percent), dried whole milk (8.5 percent), a small amount of emulsifing salts (about 2 percent) and 0.05 percent table salt. The ingredients are mixed and melted with the addition of emulsifiers, then cooled and packaged. Divniy Cream cheese may contain small amounts of non-dairy ingredients, such as mushrooms, herb mix, paprika, salmon, shrimp and other natural fillers. A sample cheese consisted of a white, thick paste, packaged in a small, plastic rectangular tub, about 4inches by 2-¼ inches by 1 inch high, weighing 200 grams, net. The applicable subheading for cream curd with rum-soaked raisins (Slivochniy Tvorozhok Karat), if entered under quota, will be 0406.10.8400, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for cheese and curd, fresh (unripened or uncured) cheese, including whey cheese, and curd, other, other, other, other cheese and substitutes for cheese (except cheese not containing cow’s milk, and soft ripened cow’s milk cheese), described in additional U.S. note 16 to chapter 4 and entered pursuant to its provisions. The rate of duty will be 10 percent ad valorem. The applicable subheading for cream curd with rum-soaked raisins (Slivochniy Tvorozhok Karat), if entered outside the quota, will be 0406.10.8800, HTS, which provides for cheese and curd, fresh (unripened or uncured) cheese, including whey cheese, and curd, other, other, other, other cheese and substitutes for cheese (except cheese not containing cow’s milk, and soft ripened cow’s milk cheese), other. The rate of duty will be $1.509 per kilogram. In addition, products classified in subheading 0406.10.8800, HTS, will be subject to additional duties based on their value, as described in subheadings 9904.06.38 – 9904.06.49. The applicable subheading for smoked process cheese with ham (Syr Kopcheniy s Okorokom), if entered under quota, will be 0406.30.7300, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for cheese and curd, processed (process) cheese, not grated or powdered, other, including mixtures of the above, containing, or processed from, Edam or Gouda cheeses, described in additional U.S. note 20 to chapter 4 and entered pursuant to its provisions. The rate of duty will be 10 percent ad valorem. The applicable subheading for smoked process cheese with ham (Syr Kopcheniy s Okorokom), if entered outside the quota, will be 0406.30.7500, HTS, which provides for cheese and curd, processed (process) cheese, not grated or powdered, other, including mixtures of the above, containing, or processed from, Edam or Gouda cheeses, other. The rate of duty will be $1.803 per kilogram. In addition, products classified in subheading 0406.30.7500, HTS, will be subject to additional duties based on their value, as described in subheadings 9904.05.83 – 9904.05.94. The applicable subheading for Divniy cream cheese, if imported in quantities that fall within the limits described in additional U.S. note 10 to chapter 4, will be 2106.90.6400, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for food preparations not elsewhere specified or included…other…other… containing over 10 percent by weight of milk solids…other, dairy products described in additional U.S. note 1 to chapter 4…described in additional U.S. note 10 to chapter 4 and entered pursuant to its provisions. The rate of duty will be 10 percent ad valorem. If the quantitative limits of additional U.S. note 10 to chapter 4 have been reached, the product will be classified in subheading 2106.90.6600, HTS, and dutiable at the rate of 70.4 cents per kilogram, plus 8.5 percent ad valorem. In addition, products classified in subheading 2106.90.6600, HTS, will be subject to additional duties based on their value, as described in subheadings 9904.04.59 to 9904.04.66, HTS For goods classified in subheadings 0406.10.8400, HTS, or 0406.30.7300, HTS, an import license, issued to the importer by the United States Department of Agriculture, will be required at the time that such merchandise is entered for consumption into the United States. Questions regarding licensing procedures and applications for licenses to import cheese subject to quota should be addressed to: Import Quota Manager for Dairy Products STOP 1029/Room 5531-S U.S. Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20250-1029 This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 177). A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Thomas Brady at (646) 733-3030. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division