H360670

H360670 August 6, 2026 OT:RR:CTF:VS H360670 AP CATEGORY: Classification Matthew Mermigousis BDO USA 201 Old Country Road Melville, NY 11747 RE: Subheading 9817.60.00, HTSUS; Equipment and Goods Related to CONCACAF Dear Mr. Mermigousis: This is in response to your ruling request, dated December 19, 2025, on behalf of your client, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (“CONCACAF”), concerning the eligibility for duty-free treatment under subheading 9817.60.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), of certain equipment and goods imported by or on behalf of CONCACAF, shipped to and stored in the United States for use in connection with its international athletic events held in the United States and other countries from 2026 to 2030 and not intended for sale or distribution to the public. The importer has asked that certain information submitted in connection with this ruling be treated as confidential. Inasmuch as this request conforms to the requirements of 19 C.F.R. § 177.2(b)(7), the request for confidentiality is approved. The information contained within brackets in italics in this ruling or in the attachments to the ruling request, forwarded to our office, will not be released to the public and will be withheld from published versions of this ruling. FACTS: CONCACAF is one of International Federation of Association Football’s (“FIFA”) six continental governing bodies, overseeing 41 member associations from North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and three South American nations. CONCACAF’s primary role is to organize and oversea competitions for national teams and clubs such as CONCACAF Gold Cup, CONCACAF Nations League, CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions Cup, Women’s Gold Cup and Women’s Championship, CONCACAF Men’s and Women’s Beach 2 Soccer, CONCACAF Men’s and Women’s Futsal, and Youth Competitions. You have provided a list of the international tournaments and activities that will take place in the United States and other countries from 2026 to 2030. You explain that all goods and equipment supplied for these CONCACAF events will be shipped by vendors to a third-party logistics warehouse in the United States. Warehousing and distribution activities, including movement from the port to the warehouse and subsequent deployment, will be managed by vendors or third parties acting on behalf of CONCACAF. You state that the goods will remain dedicated to event use and will not enter into general commerce. For the events held in the United States, goods will be distributed directly from the warehouse to the event venues. For events organized in other countries, goods will be imported and stored in the United States and will be subsequently shipped to the destination country for use in the events. The CONCACAF events include football matches and training sessions, ceremonies such as opening, closing, and award presentations, seminars, meetings, conferences, workshops, press conferences, public viewing opportunities and fan-related activities, and cultural components (exhibitions, displays, shows). The CONCACAF events support social development initiatives, humanitarian efforts, and charitable projects. Other activities include staging, organization, marketing, promotion, and conclusion of competitions. CONCACAF intends to import the following goods: • Uniforms, balls, goal nets, trophies, awards, medals; • Accreditation equipment used to manage control and access to events (pouches, lanyards, credentials, wristbands); • Protocol gifts used for ceremonial or diplomatic purposes provided by CONCACAF to participants, officials, or sponsors in connection with the event (commemorative plaques, trophies, crystal awards, framed memorabilia, coins, or similar recognition items). • Sports equipment (banners, patches, armbands, flags, scarves, sub boards); • Referee equipment (radios, video assistant referee equipment, whistles, stretchers); • Team training equipment; • Broadcast, audio, and media equipment; • Special events/stage/venue equipment and tools; • Pitch/field management equipment; • Infrastructure equipment (stadium seating, food display racks, temporary infrastructure); • Promotional materials; • Technology equipment; • Commercial affiliate and partner/sponsor goods (hats, t-shirts, lanyards, keychains, reusable water bottles, sponsor giveaway items, and hospitality gifts distributed to invited guests or participants). • Personal items for CONCACAF client groups (individually distributed food and beverage items, toiletries, personal care products, and similar consumable/personal-use items); and • Anti-doping sample collection and equipment. The vendors responsible for importation are entities based in the United States and overseas (in [X], [X], [X], [X], and [X]). You have provided a list of the vendors. In most cases, 3 CONCACAF’s vendors will deliver the goods on a Delivered Duty paid (“DDP”) basis and will act as the importer of record. The goods imported in connection with the CONCACAF events will be allocated for use by staff, volunteers, referees, coaches, teams, and CONCACAF client groups. The goods will be designated for use at stadiums for practice and match fields and by member associations for development activities. All imported goods will be intended solely for use in relation to the event and will not be for sale or distribution to the public. In addition, CONCACAF may import surplus goods, such as infrastructure materials, equipment, or operational supplies, into the United States that were not used during events held in other countries. These goods may either be retained for future CONCACAF events or donated to approved organizations. In some cases, goods may be routed through U.S. warehouses before deployment or returned from event locations if not used. Such goods are not intended for commercial sale or public distribution. Post-event, certain goods and equipment may be donated to staff, volunteers, non-profit organizations, local clubs, or other charity/public entities as part of CONCACAF’s legacy and social development initiatives. All donated goods are intended strictly for charitable purposes, and not for resale or public distribution. CONCACAF intends to include provisions with donee organizations requiring that donated goods are not to be resold, redistributed, or auctioned, and are used solely for designated legacy or community purposes. Where formal agreements are not in place, CONCACAF will communicate these restrictions directly to the recipient organizations and obtain acknowledgment of these conditions to ensure the goods are not distributed to the public. ISSUE: Whether the various equipment and goods imported by or on behalf of CONCACAF, shipped to and stored in the United States for use in connection with its international athletic events held in the United States and other countries, and not intended for sale or distribution to the public, are eligible for duty free treatment under subheading 9817.60.00, HTSUS. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Subheading 9817.60.00, HTSUS, provides duty-free treatment for: Any of the following articles not intended for sale or distribution to the public: personal effects of aliens who are participants in, officials of, or accredited members of delegations to, an international athletic event held in the United States, such as the Olympics and Paralympics, the Goodwill Games, the Special Olympics World Games, the World Cup Soccer Games, or any similar international athletic event as the Secretary of the Treasury may determine, and of persons who are immediate family members of or servants to any of the foregoing persons; equipment and materials imported in connection with any such foregoing event by or on behalf of the foregoing persons or the organizing committee of such an event, 4 articles to be used in exhibitions depicting the culture of a country participating in such an event; and, if consistent with the foregoing

Subheading 9817.60.00, HTSUS, provides duty-free treatment for: Any of the following articles not intended for sale or distribution to the public: personal effects of aliens who are participants in, officials of, or accredited members of delegations to, an international athletic event held in the United States, such as the Olympics and Paralympics, the Goodwill Games, the Special Olympics World Games, the World Cup Soccer Games, or any similar international athletic event as the Secretary of the Treasury may determine, and of persons who are immediate family members of or servants to any of the foregoing persons; equipment and materials imported in connection with any such foregoing event by or on behalf of the foregoing persons or the organizing committee of such an event, 
 4 articles to be used in exhibitions depicting the culture of a country participating in such an event; and, if consistent with the foregoing, such other articles as the Secretary of the Treasury may allow. Subheading 9817.60.00, HTSUS, was added to the HTSUS with the enactment of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2000, Public Law 106-476 (November 9, 2000). The Senate Report stated with regard to this new provision: This provision would amend subchapter XVII of chapter 98 of the HTS by inserting a new heading 9817.60.00 for duty free treatment of the personal effects of participants in, officials of, and accredited members of delegations to, international athletic events, including the paralympics, held in the United States provided that these items are not intended for sale or distribution in the United States. H.R. 2715 would also exempt the articles covered under this provision from taxes and fees and would give the Secretary of the Treasury discretion to determine which athletic events, articles, and persons are covered under this provision. See S. Rep. No. 503, 106th Cong., 2nd Sess. (2000) (“Tariff Suspension and Trade Act of 2000”). The House Report contains virtu