Ruling Request; Women’s Garments with Designs applied in Mexico; Subheading 9802.00.90, HTSUS

HQ H136215 July 15, 2011 CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:VS H136215 HkP CATEGORY: Classification Rachel Goding, Esq. International Automated Customs Brokers, Inc. 1655 St. Andrews Cove San Diego, CA 92154 RE: Ruling Request; Women’s Garments with Designs applied in Mexico; Subheading 9802.00.90, HTSUS Dear Ms. Goding: This is in response to your letter dated October 6, 2010, submitted on behalf of Jerry Leigh of California, Inc. (Jerry Leigh), to the National Commodity Specialist Division (NCSD), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), requesting a binding ruling on the applicability of subheading 9802.00.90, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) to women’s garments. Your request was forwarded to this office for a response. We apologize for our delay in responding to you. FACTS: The merchandise at issue is five styles of women’s garments imported from Mexico. Samples of all five styles were submitted to the NCSD. For all styles, you state that the fabric is knit in the United States using foreign yarn. The resulting U.S. fabric is dyed, finished and cut to shape in the U.S. and then sent to Mexico for assembly (sewing) and further processing. According to the NCSD, all the garments will be classifiable in Chapter 61, HTSUS, when entered into the United States. The five styles of garments are described as follows. Style JT9000-K2160 is a sweatshirt made of 50 percent cotton and 50 percent polyester. The yarn used to knit the fabric is from Indonesia, and the weight of the U.S.-made fabric is between 185 g/m2 and 190 g/m2. Labels are made in China. In Mexico, after the U.S. fabric is sewn into sweatshirts, a design is screen-printed on the front panel of the shirts. The finished sweatshirt has a rounded neckline with 1 x 1 inch rib knit trim, ¾ length sleeves with 1 x 1 inch trim, and a loose fitting 1 x 1 inch ribbed knit bottom band. Photographs of this style were submitted for our review. Style JT9231-K0409A is a tank top made of knit jersey that is 52 percent modal and 48 percent cotton. The yarn used to knit the fabric is from India, and the weight of the U.S.-made fabric is 110g/m2. Labels are made in China. In Mexico, after the U.S. fabric is sewn into finished garments, a design is foil-printed onto the front panel of the tank tops in a two-step process. The finished tank top has a racerback, a scooped front neckline, self-fabric capping at the neckline and armholes, 1 ½ inch-wide shoulder straps, and a slightly curved hem at the bottom. Style JT9103 is a pullover made of knit jersey that is 52 percent polyester, 32 percent cotton, and 16 percent rayon. The yarn used to knit the fabric is from India, and the weight of the U.S.-made fabric is 110g/m2. Labels are made in China. In Mexico, after the U.S. fabric is sewn into finished garments, the front panels of the pullovers are screen-printed and foil-printed with a design. The finished pullover has a rounded front neckline with self-fabric capping, long raglan sleeves, and a slightly curved hem at the bottom. Style JT8921 and Style JT9006 are pullovers made of knit jersey that is 52 percent modal and 48 percent cotton. The yarn used to knit the fabric is from India, and the weight of the U.S.-made fabric is 110g/m2. Neck labels are screen-printed in Mexico, and the other labels are made in China. In Mexico, after the U.S. fabric is sewn into finished garments, a design is heat-pressed/transferred (Style JT8921) or screen-printed and foil-printed (Style JT9006) onto the front panels of the garments. The finished pullovers have a rounded front neckline with a self-fabric band, short hemmed sleeves, and a straight hem at the bottom. ISSUE: Whether the five styles of women’s garments assembled and further processed in Mexico are eligible for duty free entry under subheading 9802.00.90, HTSUS. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Subheading 9802.00.90, HTSUS provides a duty exemption for: Textile and apparel goods, assembled in Mexico in which all fabric components were wholly formed and cut in the United States, provided that such fabric components, in whole or in part, (a) were exported in condition ready for assembly without further fabrication, (b) have not lost their physical identity in such articles by change in form, shape or otherwise, and (c) have not been advanced in value or improved in condition abroad except by being assembled and except by operations incidental to the assembly process; provided that goods classifiable in chapters 61, 62 or 63 may have been subject to bleaching, garment dyeing, stone-washing, acid-washing or perma-pressing after assembly as provided for herein[.] You argue that all five styles of women’s garments are eligible for duty-free entry into the United States under the provisions of subheading 9802.00.90, HTSUS, because they meet all the requirements of the provision. Specifically, you state that the fabric is formed in the United States using foreign yarn. The fabric is then cut to shape in the United States, after which it is ready to be sewn into garments without further processing. The fabric pieces are then sent to Mexico where they are sewn into garments. Further, because subheading 9802.00.90, HTSUS, requires that U.S. fabric components “in whole or in part” satisfy the conditions of the subheading, you argue that the application of the designs to only one component of the garments does not preclude the garments from qualifying for duty-free entry under this provision. We agree. Subheading 9802.00.90, HTSUS, requires only that the textile and apparel goods described in the subheading “in whole or in part” satisfy the requirements of parts (a), (b), and (c) of the tariff provision. Consequently, while the application of the designs to one component of the garments by screen-printing, foil-printing, or heat pressing/transfer is not an operation incidental to the assembly process, that operation will not preclude the shirts which otherwise satisfy the conditions of the subheading, from receiving the benefit of the tariff provision. See 19. C.F.R. § 10.16(b), (c). See also HQ H560201 (May 14, 1998). HOLDING: The five styles of women’s garments described in this ruling, styles JT9000-K2160, JT9231-K0409A, JT9103, JT8921, and JT9006, are eligible for a full duty exemption under subheading 9802.00.90, HTSUS, when imported into the United States. A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to entry documents filed at the time the goods are 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, Monika R. Brenner, Chief Valuation and Special Programs Branch