H334131

H334131 July 23, 2026 OT:RR:CTF:FTM H334131 LPO CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 1404.90.90 Mr. Cesar Augusto Sanchez Gutierrez International Trade Brokers and Forwarders 2261 NW 66th Ave #221 Miami, FL 33122 RE: Classification of Dried Hemp Flowers (Cannabis sativa L.) Dear Mr. Gutierrez: This letter is in response to your April 5, 2023 request, on behalf, Health Green S.A.S. (hereinafter, “Health Green”), for a binding ruling regarding the tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) of hemp flowers (Cannabis sativa L.). This ruling request was forwarded to this office from the National Commodity Specialist Division for a response. At the request of Health Green, we met on December 11, 2024, at which time the characteristics of the product and general rulings process were discussed. Subsequently, on April 22, 2025, in response to our request for additional information on how the hemp flowers are processed, the original submission was supplemented with a detailed description of postharvest processing of the hemp plant. Our ruling is set forth below. FACTS: The merchandise at issue concerns two varieties of hemp flowers exported from Colombia. In their condition as imported, the subject hemp flowers are dried, de-stemmed, de-leaved, and ground. Once harvested, the hemp plants are placed in a dehydrator until they reach a final humidity level of 10-15%, after which branches are cut from the buds, leaves are removed from the buds, and the buds are processed in a grinder resulting in 4-millimeter particles. There are two varieties of the subject ground hemp flower, which Health Green markets as “Mallwa” and “Puka Yana.” You stated that the primary use for the product at issue is the extraction of CBD oil for the derivative hemp market. ISSUE: What is the tariff classification of the subject dried hemp flowers? 2 LAW AND ANALYSIS: Classification of goods under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI”). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order. The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows: 1404 Vegetable products not elsewhere specified or included. * * * 5302 True hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), raw or processed but not spun; tow and waste of true hemp (including yarn waste and garnetted stock). Note 1(c) to Section XI, HTSUS, which includes Chapter 53, states that the section does not cover cotton linters or other vegetable materials of Chapter 14. Note 1 to Chapter 14, HTSUS, states: This chapter does not cover the following products which are to be classified in section XI: vegetable materials or fibers of vegetable materials of a kind used primarily in the manufacture of textiles, however prepared, or other vegetable materials which have undergone treatment so as to render them suitable for use only as textile materials. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS. While not legally binding or dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings at the international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989). The General EN to Chapter 14, states. in pertinent part, that: The Chapter excludes vegetable materials of a kind used primarily in the manufacture of textiles, however prepared, and other vegetable materials processed for use as textile materials (Section XI). The General EN to Section XI states, in pertinent part, that: In general, Section XI covers raw materials of the textile industry (silk, wool, cotton, man-made fibres, etc.), semi-manufactured products (such as yarns and woven fabrics) and the made up articles made from those products. However, it excludes a certain number of materials and products such as those mentioned in 3 Note 1 to Section XI, the Notes to certain Chapters or in the following Explanatory Notes on headings in the Section. The General EN to Chapter 53 provides, in pertinent part, that: In general, and with certain exceptions referred to in the Explanatory Note to heading 53.05, this Chapter deals with vegetable textile materials (other than cotton) at the various stages from the raw materials to their transformation into woven fabrics. Before determining whether the subject merchandise is excluded from Section XI by operation of Note 1(c), supra, we first determine whether it is falls under the scope of the exclusion set forth in Note 1 to Chapter 14, supra, i.e., whether it constitutes “vegetable materials or fibers of vegetable materials of a kind used primarily in the manufacture of textiles.” In this respect, the General EN to Chapter 53 explains that this chapter provides for vegetable textile materials, in various stages between raw plant material and its transformation into woven textile fabric. Based on your submission, the subject dried, de-stemmed, de-leaved, and ground hemp flower is not a hemp product used as a textile or used to create textile articles. The part of the hemp plant broadly used for textiles is the bast fibers, which are found in the outer portion of the stalk.1 These fibers from the stalk have the most desired properties for textile production, such as length and strength. The subject hemp flower, by contrast, does not contain such properties and is not preferred for textile manufacturing. Thus, the subject dried, ground hemp flower does not constitute vegetable materials of a kind used primarily in the manufacture of textiles. As such, it is not excluded from classification in Chapter 14 by operation of Note 1 to that Chapter. You contend that the hemp flower product at issue should be classified in subheading 1404.90.90, HTSUS, which provides for “Vegetable products not elsewhere specified or included… Other: Other,” explaining that the product is akin to the subject of CBP New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N305504, dated August 28, 2019, which addressed shredded, dried, ground, and pelletized hemp leaves that were imported principally for the extraction of CBD oil. In NY N305504, CBP determined that the hemp leaf product was classified under heading 1404, HTSUS. You further suggest that the instant hemp flower product is similar to the “hemp biomass” classified under heading 1404, HTSUS, in NY N339899, dated May 16, 2024. We note that in the hemp farming industry, hemp biomass generally refers to the stalks, leaves, and other plant matter that remains after the flowers are harvested,2 but can also be obtained by shredding the entire hemp plant to create a homogenous “biomass.”3 It is also important to 1 Dr. Allison P. Young, Fact Sheet: Hemp Fibers and Fabrics Kentucky State, University Cooperative Extension (2020), https://www.kysu.edu/documents/school-of-agriculture-communities-and-the-environment/fcs_hempfibersandfabrics_fs20_accessible.pdf (Last visited July 15, 2026). 2 See Mudassar Hussain et al., Valorization of Hemp Biomass Through Green Methods: A Sustainable Approach for Next-Generation Food Packaging, 165 Trends in Food Science & Technology (2025), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105295 (last visited July 15, 2026). 3 See Remediation and Disposal Guidelines for Hemp Growing Facilities U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture (2021), https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/HempRemediationandDisposalGuidelines.pdf (last visited , July 15, 2026). 4 clarify that hemp flowers are found on female hemp plants, which are composed of the following parts: the cola, pistils, bracts, trichomes, sugar leav

Classification of goods under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI”). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order. The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows: 1404 Vegetable products not elsewhere specified or included. * * * 5302 True hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), raw or processed but not spun; tow and waste of true hemp (including yarn waste and garnetted stock). Note 1(c) to Section XI, HTSUS, which includes Chapter 53, states that the section does not cover cotton linters or other vegetable materials of Chapter 14. Note 1 to Chapter 14, HTSUS, states: This chapter does not cover the following products which are to be classified in section XI: vegetable materials or fibers of vegetable materials of a kind used primarily in the manufacture of textiles, however prepared, or other vegetable materials which have undergone treatment so as to render them suitable for use only as textile materials. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS. While not legally binding or dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings at the international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989). The General EN to Chapter 14, states. in pertinent part, that: The Chapter excludes vegetable materials of a kind used primarily in the manufacture of textiles, however prepared, and other vegetable materials processed for use as textile materials (Section XI). The General EN to Section X