The tariff classification of plastic hangers from China

N007487 March 8, 2007 CLA-2-39:RR:NC:N2:221 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 3923.90.0080 Ms. Diane Weinberg Meeks & Sheppard 330 Madison Avenue, 39th Floor New York, NY 10017 RE: The tariff classification of plastic hangers from China Dear Ms. Weinberg: In your letter dated February 21, 2007, on behalf of Goody’s Family Clothing, Inc., Tennessee, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Five samples were included with your request. All are made of clear plastic and all have metal swivel top hooks. Style 6012 is a 12 inch bottom hanger with a ridge measuring 5/16 inch. Style 6014 is a 14 inch bottom hanger with a ridge measuring 3/8 inch. These bottom hanger styles incorporate plastic pinch clips that operate by means of a metal spring to secure shorts, pants or skirts. Style 479 is a 19 inch top hanger with a ridge measuring 3/8 inch. Style 484 is a 17 inch top hanger with a ridge measuring 3/8 inch. Both styles 479 and 484 are molded to incorporate a hook at the lower middle portion through which a bottom hanger may be secured to facilitate the hanging of two-piece garments. Style 485 is a 15 inch top hanger with a ridge measuring 5/16 inch. The hangers are manufactured to specifications in accordance with the “Floor Ready Hanger Program,” a program in which most major American retailers participate. Garments are shipped from overseas on the specified hangers and arrive at the retail stores ready to be hung directly on the selling floor. You state that the hangers are suitable for reuse for international and domestic shipment of other apparel articles. The applicable subheading for the plastic hangers will be 3923.90.0080, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics…other…other. The rate of duty will be 3 percent ad valorem. You ask whether the hangers, when imported holding apparel, may be classified separately from the apparel. General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 5(b) of the HTSUS provides that, subject to the provisions of GRI 5(a), packing materials and packing containers entered with the goods therein shall be classified with the goods if they are of a kind normally used for packing such goods. However, this provision is not binding when such materials or packing containers are clearly suitable for repetitive use. The hangers submitted with your request are substantially similar to the hangers that were the subject of HQ 964963, 964964 and 964948, all dated June 19, 2001. Those hangers, which were used in hanger recovery systems, were ruled to be of sufficiently substantial construction to be suitable for repetitive use for the conveyance of goods. Thus, styles 479, 484, 485, 6012 and 6014 may be classified separately in subheading 3923.90.0080, HTSUS, even when imported with garments. Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 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 Joan Mazzola at 646-733-3023. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division