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U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Binding Rulings - HTS 5903

In January 2008 U.S. Customs and Border Protection published Informed Compliance Document What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About: Classification of Coated and Water Resistant Apparel. That guide states--

Legal Notes 2(a)(1) and 5(a) in HTSUS Chapter 59 state that for fabrics to be considered visibly coated, the coating must be visible to the naked eye other than by change of color. CBP has ruled that the criterion for visibility is satisfied by any one of the following:

• A change in the surface character of the fabric (HQ 082219, November 11, 1988)

• The coating fills the interstices where the yarns intersect (HQ 961172, August 6, 1998)

• The coating blurs or obscures the weave (HQ 089772, September 11, 1991)

No account should be taken of any resulting change in only shine, reflectivity, dullness or other property which causes the viewer to see the effect rather than presence of plastic material. See HQ 967884, dated October 26, 2005.