The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled May 9 that imported frozen fruit mixtures are properly classified as frozen fruit under HTSUS 0811.90.80 (14.5 percent duty). The plaintiff had argued for classification as other food preparations under HTSUS 2106.90.98 (6.4 percent duty).
This case involves fruits and vegetables imported into Canada where they are cleaned, combined, and packaged into frozen mixtures for export to the U.S. Virtually all of these items arrive in Canada already cut and frozen. Some of the resultant mixtures contain only fruits, while others contain both fruits and vegetables.
With respect to the mixtures containing only fruits, the plaintiff argued that the language of HTSUS heading 0811 (which specifically references “fruit”) does not mention mixtures and that its subheadings all describe individual fruits or groups of specific fruits, not mixtures. However, the CAFC upheld the Court of International Trade’s determination that “fruit” has a plural meaning that denotes “fruit in general” and thus properly encompasses mixed fruits.
With respect to the mixtures containing both fruits and vegetables, the CAFC upheld the CIT’s determination that headings 0811 (frozen fruit) and 0710 (frozen vegetables) are both equally specific and that the mixtures are classified under heading 0811 because they are mostly composed of fruit, which thus gives them their essential character. The CAFC rejected the plaintiff’s argument that these mixtures are food preparations under heading 2106 because the processes to which they are subjected in Canada are insufficient to render them “prepared” in a tariff sense.
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