CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 082830 CRS
Mr. Charles A. Haigh
Haigh & Associates
1404 Havenhurst Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90046
RE: Greige Goods from China
Dear Mr. Haigh:
This is in reply to your letter to our New York office dated
July 11, 1988, in which you requested a country of origin
determination in regard to certain greige goods produced in the
People's Republic of China and processed in Hong Kong.
FACTS:
The articles in question are described as 100 percent
cotton, 20 x 20 and 60 x 60 greige goods which are woven in China
in 44/45 inch widths. They are then exported to Hong Kong where
they are subjected to various manufacturing processes, including
scouring, bleaching, mercerizing, singeing, resin finishing and
pre-shrinking. The fabrics are dyed in Hong Kong but are not
printed there. The finished fabrics are imported from Hong Kong.
ISSUE:
Whether the finishing operations to which the articles are
subjected constitute a substantial transformation such that the
finished fabrics would be considered a manufacture of Hong Kong
for the purposes of 19 C.F.R. 12.130?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Section 12.130 of the Customs Regulations set forth
guidelines for determining the country of origin of textile
products. As a general matter, textile products which consist of
materials produced from or processed in more than one foreign
country are considered to be the product of that country where
they last underwent a substantial transformation (19 C.F.R.
12.130(b)). Such a transformation occurs when the manufacturing
or processing operation results in a new and different article of
commerce.
You have asked whether the processing operations undertaken
in Hong Kong represent a significant enough transformation to
change the country of origin. Generally, a fabric will be
considered a product of a particular country when it has been
dyed and printed in that country, prior to importation into the
U.S., and in addition, been subjected to
two or more of the following operations: bleaching,
shrinking, fulling, napping, decating, permanent stiffening,
weighting, permanent embossing, or moireing.
19 C.F.R. 12.130(e)(1)(i). Here, the greige goods have not been
both printed and dyed, nor have they have they been subjected to
two or more of the above finishing operations.
In Mast Industries, Inc. v. United States, 652 F.Supp. 1531
(CIT 1987), an identical issue was before the Court. There,
cotton fabric piece goods manufactured in China were subjected to
certain processing operations in Hong Kong; however, these did
not include both printing and dyeing in combination with two or
more of the finishing operations enumerated above. The Court
held that
it was not erroneous or inconsistent with 19 C.F.R. {12.130,
and certainly not unreasonable for Customs to have concluded
the country of origin of the goods Mast was trying to enter,
was the P.R.C.
652 F.Supp. 1531, 1538. We find nothing in the instant case to
distinguish it from Mast. Consequently, the greige goods have
not been substantially transformed into a new and different
article of commerce as a result of the second country processing
operations performed in Hong Kong.
HOLDING:
The greige goods are a product of the People's Republic of
China pursuant to subsection 12.130 of the Customs Regulations.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division