CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 954839 jb
Mr. George Wu
HLL-Chiang Garments MFG. Co., Ltd.
15th Floor No.248
Nanking East Road, Sec. 3
Taipei, Taiwan
Republic of China
RE: Modification of HQ 734489; Country of Origin determination
for men's woven dress shirts; substantial transformation
where assembly occurs; sub-assembly of minor parts does not
confer country of origin
Dear Mr. Wu:
On August 4, 1992, we issued you Headquarters Ruling (HQ)
734489, which held that a determination on the country of origin
for men's woven dress shirts was based on whether or not all of
the sewing and assembly operations were performed in one country
as well as the complexity of the sewing operations. Though your
original request concerned both men's long and short sleeve dress
shirts, this modification will only address itself to the long
sleeve shirts.
In a series of rulings regarding country of origin
determinations for men's shirts (HQ 953638, 953639, 953640 and
953641), Customs had occasion to review this issue. This letter
is to inform you that Customs has modified its view in regard to
the above articles for the reasons stated therein. Attached you
will find a copy of one of those rulings.
It is Customs opinion that a substantial transformation of a
woven shirt (such as those at issue in the above cited rulings
and the long sleeve shirt at issue in HQ 734489) occurs at the
time of assembly of all the component parts into the completed
garment. Though a sub-assembly operation of a component such as
a collar or cuff might take place in another country, it is
considered only a minor part of the complete assembly of the
garment and should not control the country of origin
determination of the shirt. The assembly process, i.e., the time
at which all the component parts, including the sub-assembled
parts are sewn together, is viewed by Customs as a substantial
assembly resulting in a completed garment.
It is Customs view that sewing the individual components of
the shirt together, particularly the long sleeves, collars, yokes
and plackets, to form the completed shirt, necessitates careful
and skilled sewing in the assembly. In this case, the complete
assembly of all the component parts in Country B is beyond a
simple sewing operation and thus qualifies as a substantial
assembly process.
Accordingly, if the specific factual situations as outlined
in your original request have not changed, the country of origin
of the articles is Country B.
This modification is made pursuant to 19 CFR 177.9(d)(1) and
is not retroactive in application. However HQ 734489 will not be
valid for importations of the subject merchandise arriving in the
United States after the date of this notice. We recognize that
pending transactions may be adversely affected (i.e., merchandise
previously ordered and arriving in the United States subsequent
to this modification will be classified accordingly). If it can
be shown that you relied to your detriment, you may apply to this
office for relief. However, you should be aware that in some
instances involving import restraints, such relief may require
separate approvals from other government agencies.
Sincerely,
John Durant,
Director
Commercial
Rulings Division