Classification of cotton fabric
Active· CBP ruling HQ 080144· Issued 1988-05-18
Ruling text
HQ 080144
May 18, 1988
CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 080144 CMR
CATEGORY: Classification
TARIFF NO: 320.3923; 5208.12.6020
Mrs. D. W. S. Wai
British Embassy
Hong Kong Office
3100 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
RE: Classification of cotton fabric
Dear Mrs. Wai:
This is in response to your letter of April 15, 1987,
requesting classification of a cotton print fabric imported into
the United States by Pacific Coast Feather from Hong Kong. Three
shipments are being held at Seattle for want of a correct visa.
A sample accompanied the ruling request.
FACTS:
The submitted sample is a plain woven cotton fabric weighing
3.81 ounces per square yard. It contains 132 single threads per
inch in the warp and 90 single threads per inch in the filling.
It is constructed with 40/1 c.c. yarns in both the warp and the
filling and the yarns have been carded. The fabric does not
appear to have been bleached or colored and has not been napped.
Based on the data provided, the average yarn number for this
merchandise has been calculated to be 39.
The Hong Kong Trade Department contends that this fabric fits
Hong Kong's classification guidelines for category 315 and was
improperly assigned category 314 when entered through the Seattle
seaport. The Hong Kong Trade Department bases its contention on
the guidelines in Notice to Exporters No. 50/83 of October 22,
1983.
ISSUE:
Whether the fabric at issue falls within textile category 314
or 315.
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LAW AND ANALYSIS:
In order to determine the proper textile category designation
for this fabric, we must first classify it under the Tariff
Schedules of the United States Annotated (TSUSA). The textile
category designation is determined from the tariff classification
and cannot be accurately predicted from the textile guidelines.
Based on the data provided, the fabric is woven, wholly of
cotton, not fancy or figured, not bleached and not colored and
classifiable in item 320.39 , Tariff Schedules of the United
States (TSUS). The next step is to determine the statistical
suffix that applies by reference to the Statistical Suffix Table
for Items 320.01 through 331. . The fabric meets the definition
for poplin or broadcloth in Statistical Headnote 1(e), Subpart A,
Part 3, Schedule 3, which provides for "fabrics of plain weave,
not of square construction, whether or not napped...." It should
be noted that the construction of this fabric is not square as
defined in Statistical Headnote 1(q), Subpart A, Part 3, Schedule
3, which states in part:
Square construction: Fabrics of the following types--
...containing 200 or more warp ends and filling picks per
square inch in which the total count of warp ends per inch
and the total count of filling picks per inch are each less
than 57 percent of the total count per square inch of such
warp ends and filling picks.
Since 132 warp ends divided by 222 warp ends and filling picks
equals 59.45 percent, this fabric is not of square construction.
It therefore follows that this fabric must fall within the
statistical suffixes that cover poplin or broadcloth (suffixes 12
through 26). Suffixes 12 and 13 cannot apply since they require
a fabric over 5 ounces per square yard. Suffixes 14, 15, 16, and
17 cannot apply because they cover fabric with yarns of different
colors. Suffixes 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22 also do not apply to the
merchandise since these statistical suffixes cover only fabric
having 28 to 39 more warp ends than filling picks per inch. This
fabric has 42 more warp ends than filling picks per inch. Suffix
24 does not apply because the fabric is not fancy or figured and
suffixes 25 and 26 are eliminated since the fabric is not napped.
This analysis leaves us with the only suffix which completely
fits the characteristics of this fabric, statistical suffix 23.
This fabric cannot be classified as printcloth, since the
definition for printcloth requires that the fabric be of square
construction. Note Statistical Headnote 1(b), Subpart A, Part 3,
Schedule 3, for the tariff definition for printcloth. Our
analysis has demonstrated that this fabric is not of square
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construction. Your reliance on the textile guidelines in Notice
to Exporters No. 50/83 of October 22, 1983, is misplaced. These
guidelines were obsolete at the time this entry was made since
they were based partially on the 1983 TSUSA.
HOLDING:
The fabric at issue is classifiable in item 320.3923, TSUSA,
which is correlated with textile category 314. It is dutiable at
the 1986 rate of 10.5 percent ad valorem.
Under the proposed Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States Annotated (HTSUSA), the fabric is classifiable in
subheading 5208.12.6020, textile category 314. The rate of duty
is 9 percent ad valorem. This classification represents the
present position of the Customs Service under the proposed
HTSUSA. If changes occur before enactment, this advice may not
continue to be applicable.
Sincerely,
John Durant
Acting Director
Commercial Rulings Division
6cc: Area Director, New York Seaport
1cc: CITA
1cc: NIS Alan Tytelman
Source: rulings.cbp.gov — ruling 080144, retrieved 2026-10-12T05:17:51Z, republished verbatim. This digest is informational; only CBP issues binding rulings.