1302.39.00.90 - Other 🖩

This classification, 1302.39.00.90, encompasses vegetable-derived mucilages and thickeners that are not otherwise specified or classified under more specific headings within Chapter 13. These products are characterized by their ability to absorb water and form viscous solutions or gels, making them valuable as thickening, stabilizing, or emulsifying agents in a wide array of industrial and consumer applications. Examples include specific types of gums, starches, or modified cellulose derivatives derived from vegetable sources when they do not fit into other distinct categories.

It is crucial to distinguish this category from its sibling, 1302.39.00.10, which specifically covers carrageenan. Carrageenan, derived from red seaweed, has its own distinct chemical structure and properties that warrant separate classification. Therefore, any mucilages or thickeners derived from vegetable products that do not possess the specific characteristics of carrageenan would fall under this residual "Other" category.

As this is a leaf node, there are no further subcategories. Classification within 1302.39.00.90 hinges on a process of elimination, ensuring that the vegetable-derived mucilage or thickener in question is not specifically provided for elsewhere, either within Chapter 13 or other chapters of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, and that it meets the general criteria of being a vegetable sap or extract utilized for its mucilaginous or thickening properties.