CLA 2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:463
Porfirio Waters
TECMA Customs Solutions LLC
2000 Wyoming Ave
El Paso, TX 79903
RE: Country of origin, trade agreement status and Section 301 applicability of a pocket coil mattress core
Dear Mr. Waters:
In your letter dated June 17, 2021, on behalf of your client Ergomotion, Inc., you requested a binding ruling on the country of origin, U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) status and the applicability of trade remedy duties under Section 301 for a pocket coil mattress core. In the letter and subsequent emails, you provided a description of the finished article and its materials, and a flow chart, written description and video of the manufacturing process. A sample was not provided.
You state that the merchandise, subject of this ruling request, is a pocket coil mattress core composed of as many as 800 coil springs individually encased in non-woven fabric, arranged in rows, bonded together in the form of a rectangular mattress core and covered top and bottom with non-woven fabric. The complete pocket coil mattress core measures 152.5 cm x 203.5 cm x 16 cm. In Mexico steel rod will be drawn into 13.5-gauge wire, formed and cut into individual springs, heat treated and tempered, encased in non-woven fabric, cut into rows of pocket springs, glued together in the form of a rectangle and covered, top and bottom, in non-woven fabric. The finished pocket coil mattress cores will be compressed into rolls and palletized for transportation. See the following image:
Image of a pocket coil mattress core
The materials used to produce the pocket coil mattress core are: 1) 8 mm steel rod (7213.91.6000), 2) non-woven fabric (5603.12.0090), and 3) hot-melt adhesive (3506.91.5000). In the three sourcing scenarios, the country of origin of the materials is as follows:
Scenario 1: Rod, China; Fabric, Mexico; Adhesive, various
Scenario 2: Rod, Mexico; Fabric, China; Adhesive, various
Scenario 3: Rod, China; Fabric, China; Adhesive, various
We note that both the country of origin and USMCA analyses require classification of the subject merchandise. Based upon the information submitted, the pocket coil mattress core is classified under subheading 9404.29.9087 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 other materials: Other: Other: Of a width exceeding 91 cm, of a length exceeding 184 cm, and of a depth exceeding 8 cm.” The general rate of duty is free.
USMCA STATUS: 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), in its relevant part states the following:
(b) 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 pocket coil mattress core contains non-originating materials, it is not wholly obtained or produced entirely in a USMCA country under GN 11(b)(i), nor is it produced entirely in a USMCA country exclusively of originating materials under GN 11(b)(ii).
We must next determine whether the pocket coil mattress core qualifies under GN 11(b)(iii). As previously noted, the subject pocket coil mattress core is classified under subheading 9404.29.9087, HTSUS. The rule of origin for an article classified under this subheading is in GN 11(o)/94.6, HTSUS, which states “[a] change to subheadings 9404.10 through 9404.90 from any other chapter.”
Since the three materials used to produce the pocket coil mattress core undergo the prescribed tariff shift in Mexico (rod of Chapter 72, non-woven fabric of Chapter 63, and adhesive of Chapter 35), their origin is immaterial. Based upon the preceding analysis, irrespective of the origin of the materials presented under sourcing scenarios 1, 2 or 3, the subject pocket coil mattress core is a USMCA originating good.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
The marking statute, Section 304(a), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 1304(a)), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit in such manner as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. § 1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will.”
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. 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;
(a)(2) The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or
(a)(3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in
tariff classification set out in section 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable
requirements of that section, and all other requirements of these rules are satisfied.
Since the pocket coil mattress core is not wholly obtained or produced in a single country, Rule (1) of § 102.11(a)(1) is inapplicable.
Since the pocket coil mattress core is not produced exclusively from domestic materials, Rule (2) of § 102.11(a)(2) is inapplicable.
Proceeding to Rule (3) of § 102.11(a)(3), we are instructed to apply § 102.20, which sets forth specific rules by tariff classification. The pertinent tariff shift rule for subheading 9404.29 states the following:
9404.10-9404.29 – A change to subheading 9404.10 through 9404.29 from any other heading.
Since the three materials used to produce the pocket coil mattress core undergo the prescribed tariff shift in Mexico (steel rod of Chapter 72, non-woven fabric of Chapter 63, and adhesive of Chapter 35) their origin is immaterial. Based upon the aforementioned analysis, irrespective of the origin of the materials presented under sourcing scenarios 1, 2 or 3, the country of origin of the pocket coil mattress core is Mexico.
CHINA SECTION 301:
When determining the country of origin for purposes of applying current trade remedies under Section 301, the substantial transformation analysis is applicable. The test for determining whether a substantial transformation occurs is whether an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use, different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. See Texas Instruments Inc. v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 151 (1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 C.I.T. 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993). As the processing in Mexico causes the wire, non-woven fabric and adhesive to take on a new name, character or use in Mexico—that of a pocket coil mattress core—the country of origin under the substantial transformation test is Mexico and not China, so the Section 301 trade remedy duties do not apply in this case.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
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 Seth Mazze at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division