CLA-2-62: RR:NC:TA:N3:356 L81931
Ms. Rebecca Cheung
Federated Merchandising Group
11 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001
RE: Classification and country of origin determination for a men’s woven suit, suit-type jacket, and pair of pants; 19 CFR 102.21 (c)(4); most important assembly
Dear Ms. Cheung:
This is in reply to your letter dated January 14, 2005, requesting a classification and country of origin determination for a men’s woven suit, suit-type jacket, and pair of pants that will be imported into the United States. You state that the assembly operations occur in two different countries, China and Korea. You have provided samples of the partially assembled components for each scenario, as well as a sample of the finished garments as they will be imported into the United States. As requested, your samples will be returned.
FACTS:
Style A is a men’s suit constructed from 96% wool, 4% nylon worsted fabric. The wool yarn has an average fiber diameter of more than 18.5 microns. The jacket is constructed from six panels sewn together lengthwise and has a full front opening with three button closures; a notched collar with lapels; long sleeves with four buttons at the cuffs; a full lining; an inset pocket on the left chest; two inset pockets with flaps below the waist; two inner chest pockets; an inner pocket at the waist; and a straight bottom. The pants have a pleated front; a flat waistband with six belt loops; a zippered fly front opening with a button and a metal hook closure on the waistband; side inset pockets; two rear welt pockets with button closures; a partial front lining; and overlock stitching at the ankles.
Style B is a men’s suit-type jacket. This is the same as the suit jacket of Style A but is intended to be imported and sold separately.
Style C is a pair of men’s pants. This is the same as the suit pant of Style A but is intended to be imported and sold separately.
The manufacturing operations of Scenario One for the suit jacket of Style A and the suit-type jacket, Style B, are as follows:
CHINA:
The shell fabric and lining are cut to shape and numbered
The front panels are fused
The collar and undercollar are made and joined together
The inseam and outseam of the sleeve shell are joined
The sleeve buttons are attached to the sleeve shell
The inseam and outseam of the sleeve lining are joined
The left and right back panels of the shell are joined at the center back
The left and right back panels of the lining are joined at the center back
The back of the shell is joined to the back of the lining
The front lining is joined to the side body lining
The front facing shell is joined to the front lining
The pockets are made with pocketing
The main label, size label and care label are attached
The interior pockets are made and the pocketing is attached
The inside pockets are sewn at the ends
The front darts are sewn
The welt pocket is made and attached
The front panel of the shell is joined to the side body panel
The flap pockets are made and attached to the front panel
The inner pockets are made with pocketing and attached
The chest piece is attached to the front body
The front body is joined to the back body
Bias tape is attached to the front facing and stitched to fix the chest
The front edges of the shell body are joined to the front facing
The seam is opened and the bottom of the jacket is folded and ironed
The front facing shell is basted
KOREA:
The shoulder pads are attached
The shoulder seams are sewn
The collar is attached
The neck label is attached
The bottom of the undercollar is stitched
The bottom of the shell and lining is stitched
The middle across the collar is stitched
The button holes are made and tacked
The armhole seams are opened and ironed
The sleeves are attached to the armhole and the armhole is basted
The lining of the armhole is basted to the body of the armhole
The sleeve heads are attached
The lining of the sleeves is joined to the shell sleeves
The positions for the front buttons are marked
The buttons are attached to the front opening and the inside pocket
The sleeve label, tickets and tags are attached
The jacket is matched to the pants
The garment is bagged and stored by order, model and color.
The manufacturing operations of Scenario Two for the suit jacket of Style A and the suit-type jacket, Style B, are as follows:
CHINA:
The shell fabric and lining are cut to shape and numbered
The front panels are fused
The collar and undercollar are made and joined together
The inseam and outseam of the sleeve shell are joined
The sleeve buttons are attached to the sleeve shell
The inseam and outseam of the sleeve lining are joined
The left and right back panels of the shell are joined at the center back
The left and right back panels of the lining are joined at the center back
The back of the shell is joined to the back of the lining
The front lining is joined to the side body lining
The front facing shell is joined to the front lining
The pockets are made with pocketing
The main label, size label and care label are attached
The interior pockets are made and the pocketing is attached
The inside pockets are sewn at the ends
The front darts are sewn
The welt pocket is made and attached
The front panel of the shell is joined to the side body panel
The flap pockets are made and attached to the front panel
The inner pockets are made with pocketing and attached
The chest piece is attached to the front body
The front body is joined to the back body
Bias tape is attached to the front facing and stitched to fix the chest
The front edges of the shell body are joined to the front facing
The seam is opened and the shoulder pads are attached
The bottom of the jacket is folded and ironed
The front facing shell is basted
The shoulder seams are sewn
The collar is attached
The bottom of the undercollar is stitched
KOREA:
The neck label is attached
The bottom of the shell and lining is stitched
The middle across the collar is stitched
The button holes are made and tacked
The armhole seams are opened and ironed
The sleeves are attached to the armhole and the armhole is basted
The lining of the armhole is basted to the body of the armhole
The sleeve heads are attached
The lining of the sleeves is joined to the shell sleeves
The positions for the front buttons are marked
The buttons are attached to the front opening and the inside pocket
The sleeve label, tickets and tags are attached
The jacket is matched to the pants
The garment is bagged and stored by order, model and color.
The manufacturing operations for the suit pants of Style A and the pants, Style C, are as follows:
CHINA:
The shell fabric and lining are cut to shape
All edges of the front panel, knee lining, and back panel (except top) are overlocked
The side pockets are made with pocketing and joined to the front panels
The front panels are pleated
The zippered fly is made and joined to the front panels
The back darts are sewn
The back pockets are made with pocketing
The rear besom pockets are made
The rear pockets are attached to the left and right panels and bar tacked
The waistband and curtain are made
The waistband is joined to the shell fabric
The main label and content label are attached
The belt loops are made
The outseams are joined and the side pockets are finished
The inseams are joined
The back seam is taped
KOREA:
The waist band is joined to the body and the belt loops are attached
The hook and eye is attached
The front rise is joined
The “J” stitch is applied to the front rise to complete the fly
The back seam is joined
The inside curtain is blindstitched and tacked
The button holes are made on the waistband extension, the inside fly and the back pockets
The button holes are bar tacked
The button is attached
The garment is pressed, ticketed and packed
ISSUE:
What are the classification and country of origin of the subject merchandise?
CLASSIFICATION:
The applicable subheading for the suit, Style A, is in 6203.11.9000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, (HTS), which provides for: men’s or boys’ suits, of wool or fine animal hair: other: other: The general rate of duty is 17.5 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the suit-type jacket, Style B, is in 6203.31.9020, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, (HTS), which provides for: men’s or boys’ suit-type jackets and blazers: of wool or fine animal hair: other: other: The general rate of duty is 17.5 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the pants, Style C, is in 6203.41.1810, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, (HTS), which provides for: men’s or boys’ trousers: of wool or fine animal hair: trousers and breeches: men’s. The general rate of duty is 41.9 cents per kilogram plus 16.3 percent ad valorem.
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 that "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 that "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 that "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 Tariff shift and/or other requirements
6201-6208 If the good consists of two or more component parts, a change to an assembled good of heading 6201 through 6208 from unassembled components, provided that the change is the result of the good being wholly assembled in a single country, territory, or insular possession.
Although the garments consist of two or more component parts, they are not wholly assembled in a single country, territory or insular possession. Accordingly, as the terms of the tariff shift are not met, Section 102.21 (c)(2) is inapplicable.
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”:
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
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.
Since the garments are neither knit nor wholly assembled in a single country, Section 102.21 (c)(3) is inapplicable.
Section 102.21 (c)(4) states, “Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1), (2) or (3) of this section, the country of origin of the good is the single country, territory or insular possession in which the most important assembly or manufacturing process occurred.”
In the case of the suit jacket of Style A and the suit-type jacket, Style B, in Scenario One, the assembly processes in China consisting of fusing the front panels, joining the collar and undercollar, joining the left and right back panels of the shell at the center back, joining the left and right back panels of the lining at the center back, joining the back of the shell to the back of the lining, joining the front lining to the side body lining, joining the front facing shell to the front lining, attaching the interior pockets, attaching the welt pocket, joining the front panel of the shell to the side body panel, attaching the flap pockets, attaching the inner pockets, attaching the chest piece to the front body, joining the front body to the back body, and joining the front edges of the shell body to the front facing constitute the most important assembly processes.
In the case of the suit jacket of Style A and the suit-type jacket, Style B, in Scenario Two, the assembly processes in China consisting of the fusing the front panels, joining the collar and undercollar, joining the left and right back panels of the shell at the center back, joining the left and right back panels of the lining at the center back, joining the back of the shell to the back of the lining, joining the front lining to the side body lining, joining the front facing shell to the front lining, attaching the interior pockets, attaching the welt pocket, joining the front panel of the shell to the side body panel, attaching the flap pockets, attaching the inner pockets, attaching the chest piece to the front body, joining the front body to the back body, joining the front edges of the shell body to the front facing, joining the shoulder seams, and attaching the collar constitute the most important assembly processes.
In the case of the suit pants of Style A and the pants, Style C, the assembly processes in Korea consisting of joining the waistband to the garment body, joining the front rise and joining the back rise constitute the most important assembly processes.
Accordingly, under Section 102.21 (c)(4), the country of origin of the suit jacket of Style A and the suit-type jacket, Style B, in Scenario One and Scenario Two, is China, the country in which the most important assembly processes occur. The country of origin of the suit pants of Style A and the pants, Style C, is Korea, the country in which the most important assembly processes occur.
HOLDING:
The country of origin of the suit jacket of Style A in Scenario One and Scenario Two is China. The country of origin of the suit-type jacket, Style B, in Scenario One and Scenario Two is China. The country of origin of the suit pants of Style A and the pants, Style C, is Korea.
The suit jacket of Style A from China falls within textile category designation 443. The suit pants of Style A from Korea fall within textile category designation 443. The suit-type jacket, Style B, from China falls within textile category designation 433. The pants, Style C, from Korea fall within textile category designation 447. Quota and visa status are the result of international agreements that are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes. To obtain the most current information as to whether quota and visa requirements apply to this merchandise, we suggest that you check, close to the time of shipment, the “Textile Status Report for Absolute Quotas” available at our web site at www.cpb.gov. In addition, you will find current information on textile import quotas, textile safeguard actions and related issues at the web site of the Office of Textiles and Apparel, at otexa.ita.doc.gov.
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 sections 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 Mary Ryan at 646-733-3271.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division