HQ H267054
OT:RR:CTF:FTM H267054 TSM
Thomas W. Singer
iCustom Broker, Inc. 2211 Sheridan Drive
Buffalo, NY 14223
RE: Revocation of HQ H192977; Country of origin of certain laminated fabrics.
Dear Mr. Singer:
This is in reference to Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) H192977, issued to Louver-Lite (Canada) Limited on March 15, 2012, concerning the country of origin of certain laminated fabrics. In that ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) determined that the countries of origin of the fabrics at issue are China and India. Upon additional review, we have found this to be incorrect. For the reasons set forth below we hereby revoke HQ H192977.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1625 (c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057), a notice was published in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 53, No. 35, on October 2, 2019, proposing to revoke HQ H192977, and revoke any treatment accorded to substantially identical transactions. No comments were received in response to the notice.
FACTS:
HQ H192977, describes the subject merchandise as follows:
The fabrics at issue consist of four styles, namely, the Savoy, Taffeta, Luna and Dahlia. These fabrics are described as follows:
Style Savoy is a bonded fabric consisting of a face fabric woven in China and printed with a striped pattern, laminated to a backing woven in Pakistan and an ethylene vinyl acetate adhesive multi-layer film made in Italy.
Style Taffeta is a bonded fabric consisting of a face fabric woven in China and printed with flock in a floral pattern that has been laminated to woven backing from Pakistan and an ethylene vinyl acetate adhesive multi-layer film made in Italy.
Style Luna is a bonded fabric consisting of jacquard face fabric woven in India and laminated to a plain-woven backing made in Pakistan laminated to a backing woven and an ethylene vinyl acetate adhesive multi-layer film made in Italy.
Style Dahlia is a bonded fabric consisting of a jacquard face fabric woven in India and laminated to a plain-woven backing from Pakistan and an ethylene vinyl acetate adhesive multi-layer film made in Italy.
Based on the information submitted, the greige fabrics are sent to England, where they are printed, laminated together with the adhesive film, treated with a non-visible coating, trimmed and cut to width into long rectangular pieces of fabric with right angled corners. The fabrics are then wound onto rolls for export into the United States for the manufacture of window blinds.
In HQ H192977, CBP stated that lamination was not a fabric-making process, pursuant to HQ 968229, dated July 18, 2006. Thus, CBP determined that the lamination process in England did not impact the country of origin under 19 U.S.C. § 3592(b)(1)(C). Accordingly, CBP found the country of origin of laminated fabrics to be the country in which the face fabric of each style was woven. Therefore, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 3592(b)(1)(C), the country of origin for Styles Savoy and Taffeta was China, and for the Styles Luna and Dahlia, the country of origin was India. We have now reconsidered our country of origin determination, as set forth below.
ISSUE:
What is the country of origin of the laminated fabrics at issue?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The Uruguay Round Agreements Act (“URAA”), particularly Section 334, codified at 19 U.S.C. § 3592, as amended by Section 405 of Title IV of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 (“TDA”), sets forth rules of origin for textile and apparel products. In pertinent part, 19 U.S.C. § 3592 reads:
(b) Principles
(1) In general
Except as otherwise provided for by statute, a textile or apparel product, for purposes of the customs laws and the administration of quantitative restrictions, originates in a country, territory, or insular possession, and is the growth, product, or manufacture of that country, territory, or insular possession, if –
the product is wholly obtained or produced in that country, territory, or possession;
the product is a yarn, thread, twine, cordage, rope, cable, or braiding and —
the constituent staple fibers are spun in that country, territory, or possession, or
(ii) the continuous filament is extruded in that country, territory, or possession;
(C) the product is a fabric, including a fabric classified under chapter 59 of the HTS, and the constituent fibers, filaments, or yarns are woven, knitted, needled, tufted, felted, entangled, or transformed by any other fabric-making process in that country, territory, or possession; or
(D) the product is any other textile or apparel product that is wholly assembled in that country, territory, or possession from its component pieces.
Part 102 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 102) implements the rules of origin for textile and apparel products set forth in 19 U.S.C. § 3592. Section 102.21(c), CBP Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 102.21(c)), provides in pertinent part as follows:
(c) General rules. Subject to paragraph (d) of this section, the country of origin of a textile or apparel product will be determined by sequential application of paragraphs (c) (1) through (5) of this section and, in each case where appropriate to the specific context, by application of the additional requirements or conditions of §§ 102.12 through 102.19 of this part.
(1) The country of origin of a textile or apparel product is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which the good was wholly obtained or produced.
(2) Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1) of this section, the country of origin of the good is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which each foreign material incorporated in that good underwent an applicable change in tariff classification, and/or met any other requirement, specified for the good in paragraph (e) of this section.
(3) Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c) (1) or (2) of this section:
(i) If the good was knit to shape, the country of origin of the good is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which the good was knit; or
(ii) Except for fabrics of chapter 59 and goods of heading 5609, 5807, 5811, 6213, 6214, 6301 through 6306, and 6308, and subheadings 6209.20.5040, 6307.10, 6307.90, and 9404.90, if the good was not knit to shape and the good was wholly assembled in a single country, territory, or insular possession, the country of origin of the good is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the good was wholly assembled.
(4) Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c) (1), (2) or (3) of this section, the country of origin of the good is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which the most important assembly or manufacturing process occurred.
(5) Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c) (1), (2), (3) or (4) of this section, the country of origin of the good is the last country, territory, or insular possession in which an important assembly or manufacturing process occurred.
The country of origin of textile and apparel products is determined by the sequential application of paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(5) of Section 102.21. Paragraph (c)(1) provides that “[t]he country of origin of a textile or apparel product is the single country, territory or insular possession in which the good was wholly obtained or produced.” The components comprising the fabrics at issue were produced in several different countries: the face fabrics were woven in China or India, depending on the style, the backings were woven in Pakistan, and the ethylene vinyl acetate adhesive multi-layer film was made in Italy. The components were then assembled together in England. Therefore, the origin of the finished fabrics cannot be determined by reference to paragraph (c)(1).
Paragraph (c)(2) of Section 102.21 provides that where the country of origin cannot be determined according to paragraph (c)(1), resort should next be to paragraph (c)(2). The country of origin, according to paragraph (c)(2), is “the single country, territory or insular possession in which each foreign material incorporated in that good underwent an applicable change in tariff classification, and/or met any other requirement, specified for the good in paragraph (e)” of section 102.21. In New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N183004, dated September 30, 2011, these fabrics were determined to be classified in heading 5407, Harmonized Tariff of the United States (“HTSUS”). Therefore, paragraph (e)(1), as applicable to the instant determination, establishes a tariff shift rule that provides:
HTSUS Tariff Shift and/or Other Requirement
5407-5408
A change from greige fabric of heading 5407 through 5408 to finished fabric of heading 5407 through 5408 by both dyeing and printing when accompanied by two or more of the following finishing operations: bleaching, shrinking, fulling, napping, decating, permanent stiffening, weighting, permanent embossing, or moireing; or
If the country of origin cannot be determined under (1) above, a change to heading 5407 through 5408 from any heading outside that group, provided that the change is the result of a fabric-making process.
In NY N183004, dated September 30, 2011, the essential character of the fabrics at issue was determined to be imparted by the face fabrics composed of 100% polyester. Polyester fabrics of heading 5407, HTSUS, do not undergo the required change in classification because the fabrics at issue are not finished by both dyeing and printing, and are not accompanied by any of the various finishing operations detailed in the rule (1) noted above.
In addition, the second portion of the rule is not satisfied, because there is no change to heading 5407 through 5408 from any heading outside that group. The fabrics at issue are classified in heading 5407. Moreover, the fabrics at issue also did not undergo a “fabric-making process” within the meaning of 19 C.F.R. § 102.21, which provides in relevant part that a fabric-making process is any manufacturing operation that begins with polymers, fibers, filaments (including strips), yarns, twine, cordage, rope, or fabric strips and results in a textile fabric. The bonded laminated fabrics at issue here consist of face fabrics, woven in China or India, depending on the style, and backings, woven in Pakistan. The face fabrics and backings are laminated together in England. The fabric-making process occurred in two different countries, China and Pakistan or India and Pakistan, where the face fabrics and backings were woven. In HQ 968229, lamination of a single fabric with a GORE-TEX® membrane was not regarded as fabric-making process and therefore was found to not impact the country of origin under 19 U.S.C. § 3592(b)(1)(C). Therefore, in HQ 968229 the country of origin was found to be the country in which the “fabric-making process” of the single fabric occurred, specifically the country in which the fabric was woven. The fabrics at issue here, however, are different from the fabric at issue in HQ 968229, in that they are composed of two fabrics in addition to the adhesive film. Since the two fabrics underwent the “fabric-making process” in different countries, we find that the country of origin of the laminated fabrics cannot be determined pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 102.211(c)(2), implementing 19 U.S.C. § 3592(b)(1)(C). Thus, we must turn to 19 C.F.R. § 102.211(c)(3) to determine the country of origin.
Paragraph (c)(3) of Section 102.21 provides that where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1) or (2) of this section: (i) If the good was knit to shape the country of origin of the good is the single country, territory or insular possession in which the good was knit; or (ii) Except for fabrics of chapter 59 and goods of heading 5609, 5807, 5811, 6213, 6214, 6301 through 6306, and 6308, and subheadings 6209.20.5040, 6307.10, 6307.90, and 9404.90, if the good was not knit to shape and the good was wholly assembled in a single country, territory, or insular possession, the country of origin of the good is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the good was wholly assembled.
The fabrics under consideration are not knit to shape, therefore rule (c)(3)(i) does not apply. The fabrics, however, are composed of three separately manufactured components (the face fabrics, the back fabrics and the adhesive film), assembled together. The term “wholly assembled,” for purposes of 19 C.F.R. § 102.21(c)(3)(ii), is defined in 19 C.F.R. § 102.21(b)(6). It states, in relevant part, that the term “wholly assembled” when used with reference to a good means all components, of which there must be at least two, preexisted in essentially the same condition as found in the finished good and were combined to form the finished good in a single country, territory, or insular possession. See HQ 562064, dated June 18, 2001 (the assembly operation performed abroad may consist of any method used to join or fit together solid components, such as welding, soldering, riveting, force fitting, gluing, lamination, sewing, or the use of fasteners). In the instant case, the face and back fabrics, as well as the adhesive film, preexisted in essentially the same condition prior to being laminated together in England. Therefore, we find that the fabrics at issue meet the above-discussed definition of wholly assembled. Since the fabrics were wholly assembled in England, we find that England is the country of origin for fabric styles Savoy, Taffeta, Luna and Dahlia pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 102.21(c)(3)(ii), implementing 19 U.S.C. § 3592(b)(1)(D). In HQ H192977, it was determined that lamination, as it is not a fabric-making process, does not impart the country of origin, citing HQ 968229, dated July 18, 2006. However, this does not preclude finding that the place of assembly by lamination confers country of origin on a fabric.
HOLDING:
Under 19 U.S.C. § 3592(b)(1)(D) and 19 C.F.R. § 102.21(c)(3)(ii), the country of origin of the bonded laminated fabrics at issue, identified as Styles Savoy, Taffeta, Luna and Dahlia, is England, the country in which they were wholly assembled.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
HQ H192977, dated March 15, 2012, is hereby REVOKED.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. § 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division