CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 950887 SK
Mr. John E. Brady
Vice President
Western Overseas Corporation
1855 Coronado Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90804
RE: Country of Origin of brassieres; fabric sourced in
Malaysia, Hong Kong, United States and Philippines; piece
goods cut in Philippines; assembly in Indonesia and
Pakistan; inspection, sorting and packaging in Foreign
Trade Zone; 19 CFR 12.130; mere assembly not substantial
transformation
Dear Mr. Brady:
This is in response to your letter of December 18, 1991, on
behalf of your client, Exquisite Form Industries, Inc. (EFI),
requesting the country of origin and classification of
brassieres.
FACTS:
The articles at issue, Styles 548 and 532, are brassieres.
The manufacturing of these goods takes place in several different
countries. The fabric for the articles is sourced in Malaysia,
Hong Kong, the United States and the Philippines. The piece
goods are cut in the Philippines and then shipped with a supply
of hooks, clips, slides and elastic of U.S. origin to Indonesia
or Pakistan for assembly. The finished articles are then sent
to a Foreign Trade Zone in Ontario, California to be sorted,
inspected and packaged.
The cutting times involved with Styles 548 and 532 are
approximately 26 minutes and 37 minutes respectively. The sewing
and assembly times involved with Style 548 and 532 are
approximately 273 minutes and 217 minutes respectively.
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A cost breakdown was submitted to this office which provides
the cost differential between the "body" (i.e., material) of the
brassiere and the "accessories" of the article (i.e., the
polyflex bones, elastic, plastic ring and slide, etc...). The
submitted cost breakdown does not provide the value added to the
articles by the assembly process.
ISSUE:
What is the tariff classification and country of origin for
the subject merchandise?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), is in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's),
taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be
determined according to the terms of the headings and any
relative section or chapter notes.
The articles at issue are brassieres. Heading 6212, HTSUSA,
provides for brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders,
garters and similar articles. Accordingly, classification of the
subject merchandise is proper under this heading.
Section 12.130(b) of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR
12.130(b)) provides that a textile product that is processed in
more than one country or territory shall be a product of that
country or territory where it last underwent a substantial
transformation. Your attention is directed to Section
12.130(e)(v) of the Customs Regulations which states that an
article will usually have undergone a substantial transformation
(change in country of origin) if it has undergone a substantial
assembly of all cut pieces into a completed garment.
You did not submit a detailed account of the assembly
process these articles undergo in Indonesia or Pakistan. You did
submit cutting and sewing minutes for the two styles, as well as
cost sheets detailing the cost of the material as compared with
the cost of the garments' accessories. These figures, however,
do no more than to show that the cost of the fabric is more than
the cost of the accessories and the assembly process is lengthier
than the cutting process. These factors are not determinative of
whether a substantial transformation has occurred.
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Customs has long held that the mere assembly of goods,
entailing simple combining operations, trimming or joining
together by sewing, is not enough to substantially transform the
components of an article into a new and different article of
commerce. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 082747, dated
February 23, 1989, in which Customs determined that the assembly
of jeans was not a substantial transformation and HRL 082787,
dated March 9, 1989, which reached a similar conclusion with
regard to a jogging suit.
The assembly process in Indonesia or Pakistan involves the
sewing together of piece goods sent from the Philippines and is
not significant enough to constitute a substantial transformation
as defined by the regulations set forth supra. The country of
origin of these articles is the Philippines as that is where the
piece goods were cut and where the articles last underwent a
substantial transformation.
HOLDING:
The subject merchandise is classifiable under heading 6212,
HTSUSA, which provides for brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces,
suspenders, garters and similar articles and parts thereof,
whether or not knitted or crocheted. If the articles contain
lace, net or embroidery, they are properly classifiable under
subheading 6212.10.1020, HTSUSA, which provides for, inter alia,
brassieres of man-made fibers and the applicable rate of duty is
32% ad valorem. If the articles do not contain lace, net or
embroidery, they are classifiable under subheading 6212.10.2020,
HTSUSA, which provides for other brassieres of man-made fibers
and the applicable rate of duty is 18% ad valorem. In both
subheadings the applicable textile category is 649.
The country of origin of the subject merchandise is the
Philippines.
The manner in which the visa/quota category may affect the
admissibility of these goods in a Foreign Trade Zone has not been
addressed in this ruling. Should you have questions regarding
this issue, please contact the U.S. Customs Headquarters Entry
Rulings Branch at 1301 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C.
20229.
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The designated textile and apparel category may be
subdivided into parts. If so, visa and quota requirements
applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected. Since
part categories are the result of international bilateral
agreements which are subject to frequent renegotiations and
changes, to obtain the most current information available, we
suggest that your client check, close to the time of shipment,
the Status Report on Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an
internal issuance of the U.S. Customs Service, which is updated
weekly and is available at your local Customs office.
Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation
(the ninth and tenth digits of the classification), and the
restraint (quota/visa) categories, your client should contact its
local Customs office prior to importing the merchandise to
determine the current applicability of any import restraints or
requirements.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division