CIT Rules Teva Sports Sandals are Not Athletic Footwear
In Deckers Corporation v. U.S., the Court of International Trade upheld Customs' classification of Teva sports sandals as footwear under HTS 6404.19.35 at a duty rate of 37.5%.
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This classification case involved three styles of Teva sports sandals: "Pretty Rugged Sports Sandal," "Terradactyl Sports Sandal," and the "Aquadactyl Sports Sandals." All of the sports sandals were designed and patented with a universal strapping system for use in sporting and athletic activities, often in or near bodies of water, including but not limited to beach and trail running, power and sail-boating, or whitewater rafting.
At trial, it was noted that the footwear industry recognized these sport sandals as athletic footwear.
Deckers argued that their sport sandals should be classified under HTS 6404.11.80 at a duty rate of 90 cents per pair, plus 20%, based on the clear language in Additional Note 2 to Chapter 64. This Note states that the term "tennis shoes, basketball shoes, gym shoes, training shoes and the like" covers athletic footwear (with certain exemptions not relevant to this case), whether or not principally used for such athletic games or purposes. Deckers asserted that the Teva sports sandals were "like" the examples in the Note, since both were considered to be athletic footwear.
Although the CIT stated the evidence presented indicated that Teva Sandals are, for many sports, considered athletic footwear, the Court stated that "sandals" are different from the "shoes" covered in Note 2 to Chapter 64. Teva sports sandals were open at the toe, heel, top and sides and do not fully enclose the wearer's foot.
The CIT referenced the definition of "sports footwear" and noted the historical and traditional differences between sandals and the specific examples of shoes under the Note. Each of the examples in the Note fully enclosed the wearer's foot to provide a secure and supportive enclosure that is not open at the toe, heel, top or sides.
The CIT ruled that the Teva Sandals were correctly classified as footwear under HTS 6404.19.35.
Slip Op. 07-136 (dated 09/05/07) available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/Slip_op07/07-136.pdf