HQ 950048

March 2, 1992

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 950048 KWM

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 4202.32.1000

District Director Los Angeles

300 South Ferry Street

Terminal Island

Room 2017

San Pedro, California 90731

RE: Flatgoods; Goods carried in the pocket or handbag; Plastic sheeting;
Outer surface;

Reinforced or laminated plastics; Additional U.S. Legal Note 2.

Dear Sir:

We have received two separate requests from your office for advice
regarding the

\"reinforced or laminated\" language in heading 4202, HTSUSA. The first,
an informal inquiry

via the New York Seaport, concerned a coupon holder of a plastic
sheeting material combined

with textile fabric; a sample of that merchandise was also received. The
coupon holder is the

subject of protests numbered 2704-1-100527 and 2704-1-101650. We have
also received a

letter

from your office, dated December 2, 1991, which formalizes your request.
The following is

our

response.

FACTS:

The precise details of the transactions involved were unavailable to us,
but we do not

consider them necessary for a classification determination. No detailed
information was

available

regarding the construction techniques for the product and materials in
question, but Customs\'

experience with similar items provides us with sufficient background to
issue our advice.

The sample coupon holder measures approximately 7 inches by 4 1/2
inches. It has a

\'bellows\' type construction: a folded exterior holds 5 clear plastic
dividers which expand when

the item is opened. The top opening is closed by a zipper. In addition
to the dividers, the

interior

also has two plastic pockets, one of which contains a small pair of
scissors. The body of the

article is comprised of two layers: an inner sheet of plastics and an
outer sheet of plastics and

textile combination.

Our examination reveals that the plastics/textile outer sheet has three
distinct layers: The

outermost layer is a compacted plastic; the center layer a cellular
plastic; and the innermost

layer

a woven textile. Plastics and textile combinations of this nature may be
manufactured by

different

methods. One such method involves pouring one or more layers of
liquified plastic over a

textile

carrier, and then embossing or treating the resulting sheet material to
obtain the desired

surface

finish. Another method involves laminating two preexisting sheets, one
of textile and one of

plastics, using heat, pressure, adhesives, or a combination of these, to
produce a sheet

material,

the surface of which is then finished. Both methods can result in a
plastics and textile material

such as that present here. We believe, based on the sample article, that
the latter method was

employed in this case. The textile material is separable from the
plastics, indicating that it has

not become imbedded or subsumed into the plastics. Further, the exterior
appears to have

been

treated with heat or pressure, or both, to produce a compact \"skin\"
over the cellular plastic

center.

Counsel for the importer suggests that this merchandise is classifiable
in subheading

4202.32.1000, HTSUSA, as having an outer surface of plastic sheeting, of
reinforced or

laminated plastics. Your office initially classified the product under
the provision for goods

having an outer surface of plastic sheeting, other (4202.32.2000,
HTSUSA).

ISSUE:

Does the material used to construct the merchandise have an outer
surface of plastic

sheeting, of reinforced or laminated plastics, as described by
subheading 4202.32.1000,

HTSUSA?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated

(HTSUSA) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation
(GRI\'s). The

systematic detail of the harmonized system is such that virtually all
goods are classified by

application of GRI 1, that is, according to the terms of the headings of
the tariff schedule and

any relevant Section or Chapter Notes.

Counsel does not take issue with the determination that the merchandise
is an article

normally carried in the pocket or handbag of heading 4202, HTSUSA. The
sole issue here

involves the subheading classification, based on the product\'s
component materials.

Additional U.S. Legal Note 2 provides that:

For the purposes of classifying articles under subheadings 4202.12,
4202.22, 4202.32,

and 4202.92, articles of textile fabric impregnated, coated, covered or
laminated with

plastics (whether compact or cellular) shall be regarded as having an
outer surface of

textile material or of plastic sheeting, depending on whether and the
extent to which the

textile constituent or the plastic constituent makes up the exterior
surface of the article.

Emphasis added. The sample coupon holder is covered by this legal note:
it is an article of

textile

fabric laminated with plastics, of which the plastics constituent makes
up the exterior surface

of

the article. Therefore, the article has an outer surface of plastic
sheeting, as described by

subheading 4202.32, HTSUSA.

Within subheadings 4202.32, HTSUSA, the tariff includes the following
two subheadings:

4202.32 With outer surface of plastic sheeting:

4202.32.10 Of reinforced or laminated plastics

4202.32.20 Other

Because the eight-digit subheading 4202.32.10 is a national breakout,
the Explanatory Notes

to

heading 4202, and other international references are of limited
assistance in deciphering this

provision. Under the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS)
(predecessor to the

HTSUSA)

the provision for reinforced or laminated plastics was accompanied by
legal notes which

defined,

for TSUS purposes, the scope of the terms \"reinforced or laminated.\"
However, no such notes

appear in the HTSUSA, and we are left to other devices to determine the
meaning of these

terms

since their meaning is the central issue in this case.

TSUS provisions and extrinsic sources

We have considered applying the TSUS note language to the HTSUSA
provision for

flatgoods of reinforced or laminated plastics. When the language,
provision and usage of a

TSUS

term(s) is paralleled in the HTSUSA, Customs considers any prior
interpretation of those

terms

to be instructive. It is not binding, and we find that in this case, it
is not applicable. First, the

terms are used in the TSUS flatgoods provisions without the HTSUSA
qualifiers \"outer

surface\"

or \"plastic sheeting\" (See Item 706.42, TSUS). Second, the headnote
which defines

\"reinforced

or laminated plastics\" is not found with the flatgoods provisions of
the TSUS. It is found in

Schedule 7, Part 12, Subpart A, which provides for \"Reinforced or
laminated plastics \...\"and

applies specifically throughout or \"for the purposes of the tariff
schedules.\" Rules of statutory

interpretation dictate that tariff terms be construed consistently
throughout the nomenclature.

Applying the same principle to the instant issue, we should consider
first the definition given

to

\"reinforced or laminated plastics\" under the HTSUSA plastics
provisions before relying on

language from dissimilar provisions of the TSUS.

It has been suggested that Congress knowingly did not provide a
definition for \"reinforced

or laminated\" intending that prior tariff interpretations be carried
into the new nomenclature.

By

the same token, we could argue that Congress knowingly did not carry
forward prior

interpretations, intending that a new definition be used. As proof,
consider the language of

subheading 4202.12.2010, HTSUSA, which provides for articles of luggage
with an outer

surface

of plastics, structured, rigid on all sides. If, therefore, Congress had
intended that TSUS

definitions apply, the statute would reflect that intent. All of these
arguments, however,

require

that we speculate or infer to some degree Congress\' intent in enacting
the tariff into law. We

refuse to do so. We believe that the meaning of \"reinforced or
laminated\" can be found within

the HTSUSA. When we find that a term or terms may be defined within the
scope of the

tariff,

without resort to external sources, we will apply that definition with
consistency throughout

the

tariff provisions.

For these reasons we have analyzed below the provisions of Chapter 39,
HTSUSA,(and

accompanying Explanatory Notes) which provide for plastics and articles
of plastics,

concentrating on that language which classifies reinforced or laminated
plastics and/or plastic

sheeting.

Chapter 39, Plastics and plastic sheeting

We find no legal note to Section VII or Chapter 39, HTSUSA, which
specifically defines

\"reinforced or laminated.\" Heading 3920, HTSUSA, provides for plates,
sheets, etc. of plastic

not reinforced or laminated, and heading 3921 provides for \"other\"
plates and sheets of

plastics.

The subheadings under 3921 include provisions for plastic sheets
\"combined\" with textile

materials. The Explanatory Notes to Chapter 39 indicate that the
classification of plastics and

textiles combinations is governed by Note l(h) to Section XI, Note 3 to
Chapter 56 and Note

2

to Chapter 59, HTSUSA. Section XI, Note l(h) is a general exclusion for
articles of Chapter

39\.

Chapter 56 covers wadding, felt and nonwovens, and Chapter 59 covers
impregnated, coated,

covered or laminated textile fabrics. Together, Note 3 to Chapter 56 and
Note 2 to Chapter 59

dictate that the following products are classified in Chapter 39:

\(1\) Felt impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics,
containing 50% or

less by weight of textile material or felt completely imbedded in
plastics.

\(2\) Textile fabrics and nonwovens, either completely embedded in
plastics or entirely

coated or covered on both sides with such material, provided that such
coating or

covering can be seen with the naked eye and no account being taken of
nay

resulting change in color.

\(3\) Textile fabrics, impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with
plastics, which

cannot, without fracturing be bent manually around a cylinder of a
diameter of 7

mm, at a temperature between 15 degrees celsius and 30 degrees celsius.

\(4\) Plates, sheets, and strip of cellular plastics combined with
textile fabrics, felt or

nonwovens, where the textile is present merely for reinforcing purposes.

Items 1,2, & 3 are clearly inapplicable in this case. (Note that under
number 4, only cellular

plastic sheets. etc, combined with textiles merely for reinforcing
purposes are included.

Noncellular plastic sheets combined with textile merely for reinforcing
purposes, and all

plastic

sheets combined with textiles for purposes other than reinforcing remain
classified in Chapter

59,

HTSUSA) None of the notes define \"reinforced or laminated.\" Customs
has classified

reinforced

or laminated sheets of cellular plastics combined with textiles merely
for reinforcing purposes

under heading 3921, HTSUSA. We generally regard textile reinforcing to
be a question of

fact.

Our experience with materials similar to that at issue indicates that
most textiles serve

some reinforcing purpose when combined with plastics, although they may
also have other

functions. Lamination is regarded by Customs as the combination of two
pre-existing

materials

using heat, pressure, adhesives, or some combination thereof to form a
single material.

Materials

joined by lamination may or may not be separable, depending on the
lamination technique

used.

In the case of the instant merchandise, a sheet of plastics has been
combined with a

textile

fabric, probably through lamination, to form a plastics and textile
combination in sheet form.

This construction is common in goods of the type where the textile is
present merely for

reinforcing purposes, and we find that such is the case here. Lastly, we
find that the plastics

present in the sample article are cellular in nature. The noncellular
\'skin\' has been created by

heating and pressing the surface of the cellular plastic sheet to form a
more resilient surface.

The

material from which the piece goods for the coupon holder were cut would
be classified in

heading 3921, HTSUSA, as plates, sheets \...of plastic, specifically as
sheets combined with

textile material by lamination.

Heading 4202, HTSUSA

The second issue we address is whether the article\'s construction from
a laminated plastic

sheet

brings it within the scope of subheading 4202.32.10, HTSUSA. We find
that it does.

First, articles normally carried in the pocket or handbag, made of, or
wholly or mainly

covered with plastic sheet material classifiable in Chapter 39, HTSUSA,
are classified in

heading

4202, HTSUSA. As noted above, Additional U.S. Legal Note 2 to Chapter
42, HTSUSA, then

provides that the outer surface dictates subheading classification, in
this case subheading

4202.32,

HTSUSA, outer surface of plastic sheeting. The question then becomes how
the terms

\"reinforced or laminated\" further modify that class of goods. Two
interpretations have been

considered at length.

Under the first interpretation, the designated \"outer surface\", i.e.
that constituent

comprising the exterior (tactile and visible component) of the article
must be reinforced or

laminated for inclusion in subheading 4202.32.10, HTSUSA. This
interpretation would require

sub-dividing the plastic(s) and textile components or layers, and would
exclude the instant

product

from subheading 4202.32.10, HTSUSA, because the exterior is purely a
compact plastics

material not reinforced or laminated. Subheading 4202.32.10, HTSUSA,
would then, in effect,

be read as:

4202.32.10 With \[reinforced or laminated\] outer surface \[i.e.,
tactile and visible

exterior\] of plastic sheeting

We believe this interpretation is incorrect. While the \"reinforced or
laminated\" language does

further divide products under subheading 4202.32, HTSUSA, reading the
tariff in this manner

would suggest a continuation of the TSUS definition, a position we
consider legally incorrect

(see

above). Additional U.S. Note 2 expressly recognizes that goods of
subheading 4202.32,

HTSUSA, are made of a composite material having both a textile
constituent and a plastics

constituent.

Instead, we find that the provision should be read in accord with the
second interpretation,

namely that the terms \"reinforced or laminated\" refers to the plastic
sheet as a whole.

Subheading

4202.32.10, HTSUSA, would then, in effect, be read as:

4202.32.10 With outer surface of \[reinforced or laminated\] plastic
sheeting

Logically, this interpretation makes more sense. We have already
determined that the material

is a plastic sheet by virtue of the piece goods\' classification in the
appropriate Chapter 39,

HTSUSA, provision. The determination whether it is reinforced or
laminated follows based on

our technical tests or the factual allegations made by the importing
party. We find no

compelling

reason to interpret the provision otherwise. While this interpretation
is different from practice

under the TSUS, it is correct under the HTSUSA. Just as the TSUS
definition of \"reinforced

or

laminated\" was applicable under that tariffs flatgoods provisions, so
too is the HTSUSA

definition of reinforced or laminated\" applicable in heading 4202,
HTSUSA. The HTSUSA

definition is, we find, broader in scope, and the resulting
classifications must accurately reflect

that definition.

Lastly we note that this issue has been the subject of protracted debate
both within

Customs and with counsel for various importers. We find no specific
intent on the part of

Congress to define \"reinforced or laminated\" in any particular fashion
other than that which

may

reasonably be inferred from the language of the statue as a whole,
keeping intact the

principles

of statutory interpretation. In the future we may be presented with
uncontroverted information

that we should proceed in a different manner. In that event, we will
endeavor to notify the

field

of any change in our position. However, we now consider this matter
settled and instruct that

future liquidations of goods be in accord with this ruling.

HOLDING:

A product normally carried in the pocket or handbag, and having an outer
surface of

plastic sheeting will be considered \"of reinforced or laminated\"
plastics as described in

subheading 4202.32.10, HTSUSA, if the piece goods which make up the
article are cut from

material which is considered a sheet of reinforced or laminated plastics
of Chapter 39,

HTSUSA.

We find that the sample coupon holder is an article normally carried in
the pocket or

handbag. It has an outer surface of plastic sheeting, as described by
Additional U.S.Note 2 to

Chapter 42, HTSUSA. It is made from piece goods of a material
classifiable in Chapter 39,

HTSUSA, as a sheet of cellular plastics combined by lamination with
textile materials. The

textile and plastics composite is, therefore, considered a sheet of
laminated plastics as

described

heading 4202.32.10, HTSUSA.

The applicable rate of duty for products of subheading 4202.32.10,
HTSUSA, is 12.1

cents per kilogram plus 4.6 percent ad valorem.

Sincerely,

John A. Durant, Director