We are an established manufacturer of toy and novelty products selling
to all of the mass marketers.  We are located in New York and are
searching for information regarding Duty and Tariff rates for 2 items
below.  We will be manufacturing the items in China and then importing
them to the United States.

Please understand, that I am familiar with the Customs Website and HTS
database located at the following url and have searched it thoroughly
for the appropriate answer:
http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/bychapter/index.htm

To answer our question sufficiently, the researcher should be able to
help us identify the proper HTS# for the following 2 items and justify
why it is the appropriate number.  We can find many numbers that could
be applicable but cannot find one that we are entirely convinced is
correct:

1.  An outdoor novelty flag (48" x 20") made of polyester.  This flag
is not of any nation.  It is purely a decorative holiday item (not
christmas) that will have a picture of a licensed character on it.

2.  A Snow Globe, fully assembled and manufactured in China containing
liquid and glitter, filled into an acrylic or glass sphere or
hemisphere with a plastic molded base and a plastic molded figurine
inside.  This item will be similar to any snow globe that one might
buy at any Hallmark or gift type store.

Please feel free to email me with any questions for clarification if
necessary.  We would gladly appreciate your help.

Best regards,
Adam

Hi Adam,

We'll start with your item number 2 because I found such a wonderful
link to corroborate my answer.

2) SNOW GLOBES
note: "The precise eight-digit subheading is dependent on the unit
value of the article."

>>> If the sphere is glass: 7013.99
http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/tata/hts/bychapter/0500c70.pdf

>>> If the sphere is acrylic: 3906.10
http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/tata/hts/bychapter/0500c39.pdf

Glass Globes or Domes (Water Globes, Snow Globes, Etc.)
"Under General Rule of Interpretation (3)(b) of the HTS (?GRI
(3)(b)?), the classification of a composite good will be based on the
component which represents the essential character of the product. If
no single component imparts essential character to the article, GRI
(3)(c) dictates that classification will be based on the applicable
heading appearing last in the HTS.
When a glass water globe or snow globe on a base contains a figure or
object inside the globe and there are no figures or objects outside
the globe, classification will generally be based on the material of
the globe. In this example, the globe itself will be regarded as the
component that represents the product?s essential character under GRI
(3)(b). When the globe (containing a figure or object) simply rests on
a base and there are no figures or objects outside the globe, neither
the base nor the figure or object inside the globe will be held to
impart the product?s essential character. Generally in this situation
only the material of the globe itself will determine classification.
Consequently, the merchandise will be classified as decorative
glassware in subheading 7013.99. The precise eight-digit subheading is
dependent on the unit value of the article. (The globe in this type of
product is usually made of glass and subheading 7013.99 applies; of
course, in those cases when the globe itself is made of plastic rather
than glass, Chapter 39 would apply.)"
http://cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbox/legal/informed_compliance_pubs/general/icp068.ctt/icp068.pdf

1) FLAGS

Your novelty flags are more problematic but I believe they belong in
the same category as national flags, noting that is where banners of
man-made textiles are also. One could argue for the 9505 Festive
Articles category but I believe the fabric nature of your flags merit
a textile category.  This was confirmed when I read the following
article about ribbons.

Question
What kinds of ribbons are classified in subheading 9505.90?
Answer
No textile ribbons, as of this date, have been classified in subheading 9505.90.
However, some non-textile decorative-type ribbons that consist of
plastic sheet (or paper) with wired edges, if retail packaged, are
classified in heading 9505.90 as other festive articles, party
decorations."
http://www.customs.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbox/legal/informed_compliance_pubs/textiles/icp019.ctt/icp019.pdf

>>> I. OTHER MADE UP TEXTILE ARTICLES
6307.90.85  Wall banners, of man-made fibers 
http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/tata/hts/bychapter/0500c63.pdf

You could consider contacting the USITC to corroborate my assessment.

Help Section of the USITC:
"This is an email contact form.  Users wishing to ask questions
related to tariff rates or seeking help in with the content or
hierarchy of the HTSA or its notes and appendices should select the
appropriate topic from the drop-down list.  The email is sent directly
to a staff member who can help answer the question."
http://www.usitc.gov/tata/contact/index.asp

I was glad to find such a definitive link for your snow globes, it's
too bad the same can't be said for the flags. If you have any
questions or if this hasn't satisfied your request, please post a
clarification request *before* closing/rating my answer and I'll be
happy to reply.

Thank you,
hummer

Google Search Terms Used:

hts "snow globes"
hts "novelty flags"
hts flags
hts novelties
hts banners
etc.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by abeba24-ga on 01 Apr 2005 07:37 PST

Thank you so much for the thorough answer.  You have affirmed us that
we were on the right track regarding the snow globe, however we feel
that there is still some vagueness as to what subcategory the items
would then fall into.
 
As you could imagine, the duty rate will play a part in what our final
decision of material for the globe itself should be.  Therefore we
need to understand exactly what subcategory each material would fall
into.  We had already identified categories 7013.99 and 3906.10 as
possibilities but we were really looking more complete justification
of why they would fit into that category and then specifically exactly
what sub-category they would fit into.

As we have not decided yet on the material of the globe itself, we are
still pursuing both possibilities.  If we make the globe glass, it
seems that it would fall under heading 7013.99.8000 at 11.3% duty. 
This category is defined with a value between $3 and $5 which is where
our product would be valued at wholesale.  We believe that category
7013.99.1000 seems to refer only to decorative glass items (stained
glass and with items suspended within the hardened glass) and
therefore that leads us to believe that we would end up in the "Other"
category at 7013.99.8000.  We would like to find more compelling
evidence as to what subcategory the item would fall into.

As for the flag, the National flag category #6307.90.9825 carries a
duty of 7% while the category #6307.90.8500 (Wall banners, of man-made
fibers) carries a duty of 5.8%.  Your answer affirms our expectation
that we were correct in our assumption that we could safely use an HTS
# of #6307.90.9825 (national flags).

We actually think that your answer regarding the flags was more
complete than the answer you provided for the snow globes.  You have
definitely identified the 2 appropriate chapters but we would
appreciate if you would do a bit more digging with regards to the snow
globe and we will happily leave you great feedback upon some further
clarification.

Thanks alot,
Adam

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 01 Apr 2005 09:59 PST

Hi Adam,

Just a note to let you know I'm working on your clarification, sorry
it's taking so long. I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

hummer

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 01 Apr 2005 12:17 PST

Phew. Adam, I think I've found the resource you need (for the future,
too)! If not, it's ok to break my heart, just post another
clarification and I'll try again.

The US CustomHouse Guide
http://www.customhouseguide.com/search/results.asp?q1=glass&ct=PROD-CBM-13&hdir=/search/chg/BINDING/

PLASTIC SNOW GLOBES:

NY F82903
Plastic snow globe from China; 3926.40.0000
http://www.customhouseguide.com/pages/chg/binding/02bindclass_p.asp?srch=1

NY E84745
Water globe from China; 3926.40.0000
B82414
Water globe, figurine, from China; 3926.40.0000
http://www.customhouseguide.com/pages/chg/binding/02bindclass_w.asp?srch=1

GLASS SNOW GLOBES:
C82182
Snow water globes, mini, from China,  7013.99.5000
(the value is under $3, so less than yours, but I think it confirms
we're in the right ballpark)

Other: 7013.99.80 00 Valued over $3 but not over $5 each 

FLAGS:

887823
Flag, decorative, from China; 6307.90.9986
D83396
Flag, decorative, from China; 6307.90.9989
http://www.customhouseguide.com/pages/chg/binding/02bindclass_f.asp

To decide between the two flag categories, download the HTSAcurrent full edition:
http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/tata/hts/0500HTSA.pdf

I tried to download the full edition myself but couldn't, this
computer is having trouble with .pdfs for some reason, and the full
edition was just too much for it.

Will look forward to hearing from you,
hummer

Excellent Answer.  You helped us confirm our earliest suspicions and
also provided us with a whole new reference base for doing this again
in the future.  Thank you so much.  If we prefer to have you answer
our Google Questions, how can we alert you that we are posting a
question?

Also, we will surely have many more HTS/Customs questions to deal with
in the future.  Are you in any way an expert in this category? or does
your background relate to customs and HTS #'s? or are you just a
really good researcher?

Dear Adam,

I'm so glad to hear that we finally managed to pull it all together
for you and that you are happy. No, I'm not an HTS/Customs expert, but
I 'have' done extensive research along the import/export/immigration
lines, having a special interest and experience in those topics. I
don't know about being a "really good researcher" but I would say my
interests and previous research give me a good start on similar
questions. I tend to take questions to heart and irregardless of how
long it takes, often cannot rest until I find the answers.

I would be very pleased to try and help you with subsequent questions,
it is just a matter of putting "For hummer-ga" in the subject line of
your question and I will find it.

Thank you so much for your nice note, rating, and tip - I appreciate
them all. Good luck with your snow globes and flags. As you know, no
matter how hard one tries, customs can still find a way to come up
with some surprises.

Sincerely,
hummer