CLA 2-OT:RR:NC:TA:350
Mr. Paul W. Finley
Burnes Home Accents, LLC
3101 Clairmont road, Suite G
Atlanta, GA 30329
RE: Classification and country of origin determination for a prepared artist’s canvas, produced in China, using canvas material woven and primed with gesso in India; 19 CFR 102.21(c)(3).
Dear Mr. Finley:
This is in reply to your letter received July 5, 2011, requesting a classification and country of origin determination for an artist’s canvas, which will be imported into the United States from China.
FACTS:
The merchandise consists of a prepared artists’ canvas to be imported from China .
The manufacturing operations for the canvas are as follows:
Cotton canvas composed of 100 percent cotton is woven in India and subsequently triple coated with Gesso before being shipped to China in rolls.
In China the canvas material is cut to specific sizes which are designed to be fit over a wooden frame.
The cut canvases are now stretched over a wooden frame and secured with staples.
The finished product is now shipped to the United States.
ISSUE:
What are the classification and country of origin of the subject merchandise?
CLASSIFICATION:
The applicable subheading for the canvas will be 5901.90.4000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for … prepared painting canvases, … of other than man-made fibers. The rate of duty is 4.1 percent ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Section 334 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (codified at 19 U.S.C. 3592), enacted on December 8, 1994, provided rules of origin for textiles and apparel entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on and after July 1, 1996. Section 102.21, Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 102.21), published September 5, 1995 in the Federal Register, implements Section 334 (60 FR 46188). Section 334 of the URAA was amended by section 405 of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, enacted on May 18, 2000, and accordingly, section 102.21 was amended (68 Fed. Reg. 8711). Thus, the country of origin of a textile or apparel product shall be determined by the sequential application of the general rules set forth in paragraphs (c)(1) through (5) of Section 102.21.
Paragraph (c)(1) states, “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.” As the subject merchandise is not wholly obtained or produced in a single country, territory or insular possession, paragraph (c)(1) of Section 102.21 is inapplicable.
Paragraph (c)(2) states, “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 of the foreign materials 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:” Paragraph (e) in pertinent part states,
The following rules shall apply for purposes of determining the country of origin of a textile or apparel product under paragraph (c)(2) of this section:
HTSUS 5901-5903
(1) Except for fabric of wool or of fine animal hair, a change form greige fabric of heading 5901 through 5903 to finished fabric of heading 5901 through 5903 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 moiering: or, (2) If the country of origin cannot be determined under (1) above, a change to heading 5901 through 5903 from any other heading, including a heading within that group, except from heading 5007, 5111 through 5113, 5208 through 5212, 5309 through 5311, 5407, 5512 through 5516, 5803, 5806, 5808, and 6002 through 6006, and provided that the change is the result of a fabric making process.
Subsection (1) of this rule does not apply because greige fabric is not exported to China from India. Further, the primed canvas from India is not dyed, printed or otherwise finished in China.
Subsection (2) is likewise inapplicable because any tariff shift that occurs is not the result of a fabric making process. In fact, no tariff shift occurs at all in this situation. Both the primed canvas in bulk rolls and the framed artist canvases are classified in heading 5901.
Section 102.21(c)(3) states that, "Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1) or (2) of this section":
Section 102.21(c)(3) states,
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 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 subject merchandise is not knit to shape, therefore subsection (i) is not applicable. Next we consider subsection (ii). Subsection (ii) identifies the country of origin for goods which are "wholly assembled" in a single country. The term "wholly assembled" is defined in §102.21(a)(6), which provides, in pertinent part:
The term "wholly assembled" when used with reference to a good means that 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....
Applying this test, we find that the component pieces - the canvas, the wooden frame, and the staples - preexisted in essentially the same condition as found in the finished good. Prior to assembly, the primed canvas was cut and stretched and the wooden frame was fully formed. If disassembled, the component pieces would consist of a primed, cut and stretched piece of canvas, and a fully formed wooden frame. As a result, the subject article meets the definition of "wholly assembled," and the country of origin may be determined according to (c)(3).
HOLDING:
The manufacturing process described above, which is performed in China, satisfies the definition of "wholly assembled." By application of §102.21 (c)(3), the country of origin for the prepared artist's canvas is China. The canvas or its outer container should be marked conspicuously, legibly and permanently pursuant to 19 U.S.C. §130416.
Please be advised that this merchandise may be subject to antidumping duties or countervailing duties. Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Import Administration in the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection. You can contact them at http://www.trade.gov/ia/ (click on "Contact Us"). For your information, you can view a list of current AD/CVD cases at the United States International Trade Commission website at http://www.usitc.gov (click on "Antidumping and countervailing duty investigations"), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using the AD/CVD Search tool at http://www.cbp.gov (click on "Import" and "AD/CVD").
The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise identified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in section 19 CFR 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). Should it be subsequently determined that the information furnished is not complete and does not comply with 19 CFR 177.9(b)(1), the ruling will be subject to modification or revocation. In the event there is a change in the facts previously furnished, this may affect the determination of country of origin. Accordingly, if there is any change in the facts submitted to Customs, it is recommended that a new ruling request be submitted in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2.
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Deborah Walsh at (646) 733-3044.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division