Commingled Worn Clothing Should Be Duty-Free, Importer Argues at Trade Court

Worn clothing commingled with other apparel bound for recycling should be eligible for duty-free treatment, importer Dis Vintage argued in a May 1 complaint at the Court of International Trade. The merchandise at issue is worn clothing imported to be recycled or for continued use as clothing. Dis Vintage asked the court to find the worn clothing was properly classified under the duty-free Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 6309.00.100 and to refund all duties plus interest (Dis Vintage v. U.S., CIT # 23-00033).

Dis Vintage entered the merchandise under that subheading as "worn clothing and other worn articles." On inspection, CBP found the merchandise contained both worn clothing and other articles that did not meet the requirements. CBP then classified the merchandise as commingled articles, which are subject to the highest duty rate of any of the samples of the merchandise, and liquidated the merchandise under subheading 6204.63.35 at a 28.6% rate.

The company said the worn clothing meets the requirements of HTS heading 6039 because they meet the specific textile requirements, show "signs of appreciable wear" and were entered in bales. Dis Vintage argued the merchandise met one of the "explicit exceptions" in the commingling rules, since the commingled higher-rate items were "commercially negligible," segregation was impossible without "excessive cost," and the merchandise was not intended to be segregated before use in "a manufacturing process or otherwise."

Dis Vintage also said it was denied the opportunity to address the commingling issue before CBP liquidated the entries in violation of regulations that require that importers be notified when commingled goods are found during inspections.