## Facts

- Bauer imported ice-hockey pants from 1998 to 2000.
- The articles consisted of an exterior nylon or polyester textile shell and an interior assembly of hard plastic guards and foam padding attached to a belt.
- The internal guards, pads, and belt comprised about 80% of the pants’ total weight.
- The pants were designed to absorb and deflect impacts and flying objects, protecting areas including the spine, kidneys, tail bone, ribs, abdomen, and hips; they also provided fit, comfort, and ventilation during play.
- Customs classified the merchandise as man-made fiber garments under HTSUS subheading 6211.33.00 (dutiable at slightly above 16% ad valorem during the relevant period).
- Bauer protested, asserting the articles were ice-hockey equipment under HTSUS subheading 9506.99.25 (duty-free during the relevant period); Customs denied the protest.
- The Court of International Trade upheld Customs’ garment classification; Bauer appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether the ice-hockey pants are classifiable as textile garments under HTSUS heading 62.11 (subheading 6211.33.00) or as ice-hockey equipment under HTSUS heading 95.06 (subheading 9506.99.25).
2. For a composite good analyzed under GRI 3(b), whether the pants’ essential character is imparted by the textile shell (garment) or by the protective, sport-specific internal components (equipment).
3. Whether “sports equipment” under Chapter 95 requires that an item be indispensable to playing the sport.

## Decision

- The Federal Circuit reversed the Court of International Trade.
- The court held the merchandise is properly classified as ice-hockey equipment under HTSUS subheading 9506.99.25, not as garments under subheading 6211.33.00.
- The court rejected the Court of International Trade’s use of a rigid “indispensability” requirement for classifying an article as “equipment.”
- Applying GRI 3(b), the court concluded the essential character of the composite article was imparted by the protective, sport-specific internal components rather than the textile shell.

## Legal Principles

- HTSUS classification proceeds by examining the headings and then the subheadings under the General Rules of Interpretation.
- When merchandise is prima facie classifiable under multiple headings and is a composite good, GRI 3(b) requires classification according to the component that imparts the good’s essential character, assessed by factors such as weight, bulk, and principal function.
- “Sports equipment” under HTSUS heading 95.06 is not limited to items that are strictly indispensable to playing the sport; sport-specific articles that are necessary, useful, or appropriate for the activity, including protective gear, may qualify.

## Conclusion

The Federal Circuit held that heavily padded, hockey-specific pants are classifiable as duty-free ice-hockey equipment because their essential character is protective and sport-specific, and Chapter 95 does not impose an indispensability test for “equipment.”


Bauer Nike Hockey USA, Inc. v. United States, 393 F.3d 1246 (Fed. Cir. 2004)