OT:RR:CTF:FTM H312171 TJS
Ms. Maria Gomez
Bob Barker Company Inc.
7925 Purfoy Rd.
Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526
RE: Mattresses; USMCA; Country of Origin Marking
Dear Ms. Gomez,
This is in response to your correspondence, dated June 29, 2020, in which you request a binding ruling, on behalf of Bob Barker Company Inc. (“Bob Barker”), concerning the country of origin marking and eligibility of certain mattresses for preferential tariff treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”). Your request, submitted as an electronic ruling request, was forwarded to this office from the National Commodity Specialist Division for review. Our ruling is set forth below.
FACTS:
The merchandise is a polyester mattress core encased in vinyl, identified as SKU PJM25754. Bob Barker sources 100% polyester thermal-bonded fiber batting mattress cores from a United States producer and vinyl fabric from China. These materials are shipped to Mexico where the vinyl is cut and sewn into a mattress cover and assembled with the mattress core. According to your submission, mattress labels are made in the United States. In addition to labor, the trims and mattress box originate in Mexico.
Based on the information you submitted, the finished mattress is classified under subheading 9404.21.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), which provides for “Mattress supports; articles of bedding and similar furnishing (for example, mattresses, quilts, eiderdowns, cushions, pouffes and pillows) fitted with springs or stuffed or internally fitted with any material or of cellular rubber or plastics, whether or not covered: Mattresses: Of cellular rubber or plastics, whether or not covered.” You further state that the mattress cores are also classified in subheading 9404.21, HTSUS, and the vinyl fabric is classified in subheading 3921.90, HTSUS.
ISSUES:
Whether the mattresses classified under subheading 9404.21.00, HTSUS, and imported into the United States from Mexico are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA?
What is the country of origin of the mattresses for marking purposes?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
USMCA
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) was signed by the Governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada on November 30, 2018. The USMCA was approved by the U.S. Congress with the enactment on January 29, 2020, of the USMCA Implementation Act, Pub. L. 116-113, 134 Stat. 11, 14 (19 U.S.C. § 4511(a)). General Note (“GN”) 11 of the HTSUS implements the USMCA. GN 11(b) sets forth the criteria for determining whether a good is an originating good for purposes of the USMCA. GN 11(b) states:
For the purposes of this note, a good imported into the customs territory of the United States from the territory of a USMCA country, as defined in subdivision (l) of this note, is eligible for the preferential tariff treatment provided for in the applicable subheading and quantitative limitations set forth in the tariff schedule as a “good originating in the territory of a USMCA country” only if—
the good is a good wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries;
the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries, exclusively from originating materials;
the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries using nonoriginating materials, if the good satisfies all applicable requirements set forth in this note (including the provisions of subdivision (o)); or
…
Since the mattresses contain non-originating vinyl fabric, they are not considered goods wholly obtained or produced entirely in a USMCA country under GN 11(b)(i). The mattresses are also not produced entirely in Mexico exclusively from originating materials under GN 11(b)(ii). Thus, we must next determine whether the mattresses qualify under GN 11(b)(iii). As previously noted, the imported mattresses are classified under subheading 9404.21.00, HTSUS. The applicable rule of origin for mattresses classified under subheading 9404.21.00, HTSUS, is in GN 11(o)/94.6, HTSUS, which provides “[a] change to subheadings 9404.10 through 9404.30 from any other chapter.” Since the non-originating component, the vinyl fabric, is classified in Chapter 39, HTSUS, and the mattresses are classified in Chapter 94, the tariff shift rule is met. Accordingly, the mattresses qualify for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA.
Country of Origin Marking
You have inquired whether the mattresses and/or outer boxes should be marked “Made in USA,” “Made in Mexico” or “Made in Mexico of Mexican and U.S. components” upon importation into the United States. To allow for a more seamless transition period, at this time, CBP continues to utilize the marking rules set forth in 19 C.F.R. Part 102, with the exception of 19 C.F.R. § 102.19, for purposes of country of origin marking with respect to goods from Canada and Mexico. Section 102.11 provides a required hierarchy for determining the country of origin of a good for marking purposes, with the exception of textile goods which are subject to the provisions of 19 C.F.R. § 102.21. See 19 C.F.R. § 102.11. Applied in sequential order, the required hierarchy establishes that the country of origin of a good is the country in which:
(a)(1) The good is wholly obtained or produced;
The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or
Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in § 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied.
. . .
Sections 102.11(a)(1) and 102.11(a)(2) do not apply to the facts presented in this case because the imported mattresses are neither wholly obtained or produced or produced exclusively from “domestic” (Mexican, in this case) materials. Because the analysis of sections 102.11(a)(1) and 102.11(a)(2) does not yield a country of origin determination, we look to section 102.11(a)(3). “Foreign material” is defined in section 102.1(e) as “a material whose country of origin as determined under these rules is not the same country as the country in which the good is produced.” The applicable tariff shift requirement in section 102.20 for the finished mattresses of subheading 9404.21.00, HTSUS, is “[a] change to subheading 9404.10 through 9404.29 from any other heading.” The foreign material in this case is the mattress core from the United States and the vinyl fabric from China. As the mattress core is also classified under heading 9404, HTSUS, the tariff shift requirement of section 102.11(a)(3) is not met. Since an analysis of section 102.11(a) has not produced a country of origin determination, we turn to section 102.11(b) of the regulations. Section 102.11(b)(1) provides as follows:
(b) Except for a good that is specifically described in the Harmonized System as a set, or is classified as a set pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation 3, where the country of origin cannot be determined under paragraph (a) of this section:
(1) The country of origin of the good is the country or countries of origin of the single material that imparts the essential character to the good, or . . .
The rule of interpretation set forth in 19 C.F.R. § 102.18(b)(1)(iii) states that if there is only one material that is classified in a tariff provision from which a change in tariff classification is not allowed under the 19 C.F.R. § 102.20 specific rule or other requirements applicable to the good, then that material will represent the single material that imparts the essential character to the good under 19 C.F.R. § 102.11. In this case, the only material that does not undergo the applicable tariff shift is the mattress core. Therefore, the mattress core is the material that imparts the essential character to the finished mattress. The country of origin for marking purposes is the United States. The finished mattress must be marked as a product of the United States.
The marking statute requires articles of foreign origin to be marked with their country of origin (19 U.S.C. § 1304). Since the country of origin, for marking purposes, of the subject merchandise imported into the United States will be the United States, it will be excepted from country of origin marking requirements. Please note that if you wish to mark the mattresses or the packaging containing these products to indicate that they are “Made in the USA,” the marking must comply with the requirements of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). We suggest that you direct any questions on this issue to the FTC.
HOLDING:
Based on the information provided, the mattresses classified under subheading 9404.21.00, HTSUS, are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA. The country of origin of the mattresses for marking purposes is the United States.
Please note that 19 C.F.R. § 177.9(b)(1) provides that “[e]ach ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in connection with the ruling request and incorporated in the ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. The application of a ruling letter by a Customs Service field office to the transaction to which it is purported to relate is subject to the verification of the facts incorporated in the ruling letter, a comparison of the transaction described therein to the actual transaction, and the satisfaction of any conditions on which the ruling was based.”
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the CBP officer handling the transaction.
Sincerely,
Yuliya A. Gulis, Chief
Food, Textiles and Marking Branch