CBP Says Ice Packs Sold With Textile Covers Are Composite Goods

Ice bags that are sold with textile covers that protect users from ice burns are classifiable based on the textile covers, CBP said in a Sept. 16 ruling. The agency's ruling was in response to a request for reconsideration of a 2017 ruling from Precept Medical Products (see 1801110012). Precept, which was represented by Kevin Williams of Clark Hill, said the ice bags should not be classified as composite goods.

The ice bags, which are used at hospitals and elsewhere to treat muscle strains or sprains, are not transformed into another item due to the textile covers and the covers are a “mere improvement," the company said. But the product must be treated as a composite good "because the ice bags and the textile covers are each designed to perform a separate function, and are not described in the same heading," CBP said. CBP disagreed that the covers are only an improvement to the product. Similar to the court decision involving CamlBak backpacks (see 11062315), "the primary function of the ice bag is to treat muscle strains or sprains, while the primary function of the textile cover is to protect the users from ice burns," CBP said.

Even if the bags are found to be considered composite goods, the classification should be based on the bags, Precept said. The company objected to CBP's "conclusion that the plastic bags are impractical and hazardous without the textile bag, which adds a new and co-equal function to the article." CBP affirmed that position. "Upon review of the product at issue, we find that although the ice is directly held by the ice bag -- the ice bag is virtually unusable without the textile outer layers that protect the user from being burned by the ice." Because the cover is needed, "it is therefore the textile bag that renders this item functional and consequently, provides this item with essential character," CBP said.

Here, "the ice bags are imported empty and contain no ingredients vital to their performance," CBP said. As a result, "we find that the essential character of the ice bags under consideration, in their condition as imported, is imparted by the textile component." CBP said the ice bags were properly classified in the previous ruling under subheading 6307.90.98, which provides for “Other made up articles, including dress patterns: Other: Other: Other.”