Floral Wedding Accessories

Having recently been in a wedding, I noticed that once the dresses had been chosen, that simply left accessories to choose from to create some final personal touches.

In the case of textile flower accessories and accents, the question became where do you wear them? Do you want to pin it on you? Maybe wear it in your hair? How about both?

Surprisingly, with the same amount of care a wedding party might choose to accessorize, so too does the tariff differentiate in terms of classifications and rates of duty based upon the usage of these flowers.

For example, when attached to a pin that is intended for wearing in the hair, these may be classified under the provisions for combs, hair-slides and the like under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTSUS) heading 9615 with duty rates ranging from 5.1% to 11%.

Contrast that to where a flower is attached to a pin for usage as a clothing accessory only. HTSUS heading 6217 provides for "other made up clothing accessories, parts of garments or of clothing accessories, other than those of heading 6212 (i.e., brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders, garters, and similar articles) of man-made fibers," which includes the popular wedding fabric, satin.

In this case the tariff may change to a classification under this heading where the duty rate is at 14.6%.

This means that even where you took the same flower that you could have put in your hair but instead opted to pin to your bridesmaid gown (note that a different pin is required for attachment to the hair versus apparel), it is not only classifiable under a different tariff number but also that it is susceptible to a different rate of duty.

Where you have the option of wearing the flower as both a hair pin and as that which may be pinned to clothing, the classification may change yet again to a section under HTSUS heading 6702 which is the provision for artificial flowers, foliage and fruit.

Essentially under the HTSUS, at least in this instance (and plenty of others), by being two things at once, it actually becomes neither, but a new thing.

Questions/comments? Post below or email me at clark.deann@gmail.com