Printed Foil is not Printed Matter
What is the correct tariff classification for an aluminum foil laminated with plastic that is used as packaging material for pharmaceutical products and medical devices? More to the point of Amcord Flexibles Kreuzlingen v. United States , does it matter if there are words printed on the material? The merchandise at issue in this case looks like this: The Court of International Trade previously addressed the classification of this material without the printing in a case called Amcor Flexibles Singen Gmbh v. United States . In that case, the Court determined that the flexible aluminum foil and plastic material was properly classified in Heading 7607 as a product of aluminum. The new question presented to the Court is whether the same material, when printed, is transformed into "printed matter" of Heading 4911. If your first reaction to that theory is "come on, that's crazy," just remember that the difference between paper "of a kind used for printing" ...