CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:463
Lesa Hubbard
JCPenney
6501 Legacy Drive
Plano, TX 75024
RE: Classification and country of origin determinations for three decorative pillows; 19 CFR 102.21(c)(5), last country where an important assembly or manufacturing process occurred
Dear Ms. Hubbard:
This ruling is being issued in response to your letter dated January 23, 2025, requesting a classification and country-of-origin determination for three decorative pillows that will be imported into the United States. Samples, pictures, product descriptions and manufacturing flow charts were provided.
FACTS
Article 1, a 2-Tone Cable Knit Decorative Pillow with item number 377089, measures approximately 20" (L) x 20" (W) x 8" (H) and has a rumba red 100% polyester cable knit fabric on the front, and a bright white 100% polyester knit plush fleece fabric on the back. It is stuffed with 500 grams of 100% polyester fiberfill encased in a 100% polyester woven pillow shell. The pillow edge is formed by folding the front fabric over the back fabric and then sewing around the pillow to form a 1" rumba red border.
Article 2, an Icon Knit Decorative Pillow with item number 377088, measures approximately 20" (L) x 20" (W) x 7" (H) and has a 100% polyester knit fabric on the front and a 100% polyester knit fabric on the back. The knitting on the front produces images of five plush brown snowmen on a beige background, and the knitting on the back produces the inverse image, that is, five beige snowmen on a plush brown background. It is stuffed with 500 grams of 100% polyester fiberfill encased in a 100% polyester woven pillow shell. The pillow is finished with a knife edge seam.
Article 3, a Fair Isle Decorative Pillow with item number 377065, measures approximately 12" (L) x 24" (W) x 6" (H) and has a rumba red 100% polyester knit fabric with a white snowflake design on the front and a rumba red 100% polyester knit fabric on the back. It is stuffed with 350 grams of 100% polyester fiberfill encased in a 100% polyester woven pillow shell. The pillow is finished with a knife edge seam.
MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS
Article 1, 2-Tone Cable Knit Decorative Pillow with item number 377089
CHINA
Form 100% polyester knit plush fleece fabric (pillow back)
Manufacture 100% polyester fiberfill
Form pillow shell fabric
Manufacture 100% polyester woven pillow shell
Insert fiberfill into pillow shell and sew shut to produce pillow blank
CAMBODIA
Form 100% polyester cable knit fabric (pillow front)
Cut pillow back fabric
Sew front and back fabrics together to create pillow shell
Iron pillow shell
Insert pillow blank into pillow shell
Sew pillow closed
Inspect and pack for shipping
MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS
Article 2, Icon Knit Decorative Pillow with item number 377088, and article 3, Fair Isle Decorative Pillow with item number 377065
CHINA
Manufacture 100% polyester fiberfill
Form pillow shell fabric
Manufacture 100% polyester woven pillow shell
Insert fiberfill into pillow shell and sew shut to produce pillow blank
CAMBODIA
Knit 100% polyester fabric panel (pillow front)
Knit 100% polyester fabric panel (pillow back)
Sew front and back fabrics together (3 or 4 sides) to create pillow shell
Iron pillow shell
Insert pillow blank into pillow shell
Sew pillow closed
Inspect and pack for shipping
You have suggested that the three pillows are classified in subheading 9404.90.2090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) and that their country of origin is Cambodia.
ISSUE
What is the classification and country of origin of the subject merchandise?
CLASSIFICATION
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. If the goods cannot be classified solely based on GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
We note that the term “pillow” is not defined in the HTSUS or the Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the HTSUS. When terms are not defined in the HTSUS or the ENs to the HTSUS, they are construed in accordance with their common and commercial meaning (Nippon Kogasku (USA), Inc. v. United States, 69 CCPA 89, 673 F.2d 380 (1982)). Common and commercial meaning may be determined by consulting dictionaries, lexicons, scientific authorities and other reliable sources (C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 69 CCPA 128, 673 F.2d 1268 (1982)). The Online Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a “cushion” at 1.: as a soft pillow or pad usually used for sitting, reclining, or kneeling; a “throw pillow” at 1.: as a small pillow used especially as a decorative accessory; and a “pillow” at 1.: as a support for the head of a reclining person, especially, one consisting of a cloth bag filled with feathers, down, sponge rubber, or plastic fiber. Regarding “throw pillows,” which can also be called “accent pillows” or “decorative pillows,” there is nothing in the Legal Notes to Chapter 94 or in the terms of heading 9404, or in the ENs to Chapter 94 of the HTSUS restricting throw pillows to standard sizes. This is in contrast to pillows used for sleeping or resting one’s head, which are manufactured and sold in standard sizes. Furthermore, Infantino, LLC v. United States, Slip Op 14-155, dated December 24, 2014, referencing Bauerhin Technologies Ltd. Partnership v. United States, 110 F.3d 744 (Fed. Cir.1997), at 776-778, “[rejects] the argument that HTSUS heading 9404 was limited to items whose primary purpose is to facilitate sleeping or napping.” Based upon the provided information, these pillows fall within the plain language of heading 9404, HTSUS, (see NYRLs N343634, N341304, N340644, N330981, and N330633.)
The applicable classification for the 2-Tone Cable Knit Decorative Pillow with item number 377089, the Icon Knit Decorative Pillow with item number 377088, and the Fair Isle Decorative Pillow with item number 377065, will be subheading 9404.90.2090, 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: Other: Pillows, cushions and similar furnishings: Other: Other.” The general rate of duty will be 6% ad valorem.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN – LAW AND ANALYSIS
Section 334 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (“URAA”) (codified at 19 U.S.C. 3592), enacted on December 8, 1994, provides the rules of origin for textiles and apparel products for purposes of the customs laws and the administration of quantitative restrictions, unless otherwise provided by the statute, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after July 1, 1996. Section 3592 has been described as Congress’s expression of substantial transformation as it relates to textile and apparel products. Section 102.21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR 102.21) implements the URAA. 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. See 19 CFR 102.21(c).
Paragraph (c)(1) states, “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 are not wholly obtained or produced in a single country, territory or insular possession, paragraph (c)(1) of Section 102.21 does not apply.
Paragraph (c)(2) states, “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:
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
9404.90
Except for goods of subheading 9404.90 provided for in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, the country of origin of a good classifiable under subheading 9404.90 is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the fabric comprising the good was formed by a fabric-making process.
The subject articles are not classified among the paragraph (e)(2) exceptions.
The “fabric-making process” is defined in 102.21(b)(2) as follows:
Fabric-making process. A fabric-making process is any manufacturing operation that begins with polymers, fibers, filaments (including strips), yarns, twine, cordage, rope, or fabric strips and results in a textile fabric.
Since the fabrics comprising the three decorative pillows are not formed in a single country, the terms of the tariff shift requirement are not met.
Paragraph (c)(3) states, “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 fabrics of chapter 59 and goods of headings 5609, 5807, 5811, 6213, 6214, 6301 through 6306, and 6308, and subheadings 6307.10, 6307.90, 9404.90, and 9619.00.31-33 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.”
As the articles are neither knit to shape, nor wholly assembled in a single country, Section 102.21 (c)(3) does not apply.
Paragraph (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.”
With respect to article 1, since the pillow’s back fabric, inner shell fabric and pillow blank were made in China, and the pillow’s front fabric was formed in Cambodia, where the pillow was subsequently sewn, there is no single country in which the most important assembly or manufacturing process occurred. (See HQRL 960337 and NYRL N324844.)
With respect to articles 2 and 3, since the pillows’ inner shell fabrics and the pillow blanks were made in China, and the pillows’ front and back fabrics were formed in Cambodia, where the pillows were subsequently sewn, there is no single country in which the most important assembly or manufacturing process occurred. (See HQRL 960337 and NYRL N324844.)
As none of the articles have a single country in which the most important assembly or manufacturing processes occurred, but instead at least two countries where such processes occurred, Section 102.21(c)(4) does not apply.
Paragraph (c)(5) states, “Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1), (2), (3) or (4) of this section, the country of origin of the good is the last country, territory, or insular possession in which an important assembly or manufacturing process occurred.” Accordingly, since the pillows’ front fabrics, back fabrics, and pillow blanks were manufactured into pillows in Cambodia, the origin of the three pillows is Cambodia.
HOLDING
The applicable classification for the 2-Tone Cable Knit Decorative Pillow with item number 377089, the Icon Knit Decorative Pillow with item number 377088, and the Fair Isle Decorative Pillow with item number 377065, will be subheading 9404.90.2090, 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: Other: Pillows, cushions and similar furnishings: Other: Other.” The general rate of duty will be 6% ad valorem.
Pursuant to 19 C.F.R. 102.21(c)(5), the country of origin of article 1, the 2-Tone Cable Knit Decorative Pillow with item number 377089, article 2, the Icon Knit Decorative Pillow with item number 377088, and article 3, the Fair Isle Decorative Pillow with item number 377065, is Cambodia.
The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified in the ruling request. This position is set forth in Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. If the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at the time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of CBP and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by CBP.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 C.F.R. Part 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