RE: Modification of NY N326416; Country of origin of art canvas

HQ H342508 August 5, 2026 OT:RR:CTF:FTM H342508 TJS CATEGORY: Origin Ms. Laurel T. Scapicchio BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. 25 Research Drive Westborough, MA 01581 RE: Modification of NY N326416; Country of origin of art canvas Dear Ms. Scapicchio: On February 2, 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) issued New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N326416 to BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. concerning the country of origin of certain art canvas. It has come to our attention that NY N326416 contains an error in the analysis. The ruling correctly determined the country of origin of the art canvas was China pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 102.21(c)(3)(ii). However, it omitted language that was added to the provision in 2011. Therefore, NY N326416 is modified to further elaborate the analysis as set forth below. Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Pub. L. No. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057, 2186 (1993), notice of the proposed action was published on June 24, 2026, in Volume 60, Number 16, of the Customs Bulletin. No comments were received in response to this notice. FACTS: The merchandise in NY N326416 was described as follows: BJ’s SKU #231475 is claimed to be a poly-cotton canvas. The CBP Laboratory determined the canvas is composed of a textile fabric coated, covered, or impregnated with a plastic and an inorganic material (calcium carbonate). The textile component is of plain weave construction and composed of 71.8 percent polyester and 28.2 percent cotton staple fibers. The plastic material is composed of acrylic and vinyl acetate and is cellular in nature. You state the canvas, which is stretched and attached to a wood frame, will be packed for distribution in four-packs, 11” x 14” in size. You claim the manufacturing process for the canvas is as follows: • The canvas is manufactured in India and shipped to China in rolls. • In China, the rolls of canvas are stretched and cut in order to fit over a wooden frame. • The cut canvases are now stretched over a wooden frame and secured. • The finished product is now shipped from China to the United States. NY N326416 classified the canvas in subheading 5901.90.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), which provides for “… prepared painting canvas; …: Other: Of man-made fibers.” ISSUE: What is the country of origin of the art canvas? 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 entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on and after July 1, 1996. Part 102 of the CBP Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 102) implements the URAA. The country of origin of a textile or apparel product is determined by the sequential application of the general rules set forth in paragraphs (c)(1) through (5) of § 102.21. Section 102.21(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 is not wholly obtained or produced in a single country, territory or insular possession, paragraph (c)(1) is inapplicable. Section 102.21(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.” The applicable rule in paragraph (e) for goods classified in heading 5901, HTSUS, states: HTSUS 5901-5903 (1) Except for fabric of wool or of fine animal hair, a change from greige fabric of heading 5901 through 5903 to finished fabric of heading 5901 through 5903 by both dyeing and printing when accompanied by two or more of the following finishing operations: bleaching, shrinking, fulling, napping decating, permanent stiffening, weighting, permanent embossing, or moireing; or, (2) If the country of origin cannot be determined under (1) above, a change to heading 5901 through 5903 from any other heading, including a heading within that group, except from heading 5007, 5111 through 5113, 5208 through 5212, 2 5309 through 5311, 5407 through 5408, 5512 through 5516, 5803, 5806, 5808, and 6002 through 6006, and provided that the change is the result of a fabric-making process. Subsection (1) of this rule is inapplicable because greige fabric is not exported from India to China. Subsection (2) is also inapplicable since the fabric component is entirely made in India and thus no tariff shift occurs as the result of a fabric-making process. Therefore, paragraph (c)(2) is inapplicable. Section 102.21(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: (i) 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 (ii) 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.” The subject merchandise is not knit to shape therefore subsection (i) is inapplicable. Concerning subsection (ii), NY N326416 omitted the exclusionary language “except for fabrics of chapter 59” from § 102.21(c)(3)(ii). This exclusion was added to the regulations effective October 3, 2011, by 76 Fed. Reg. 54691 (Sept. 2, 2011). This change ensured that fabrics of Chapter 59, HTSUS, derive their country of origin from where the fabric is formed, consistent with 19 U.S.C. § 3592(b)(1)(C). To apply § 102.21(c)(3)(ii), we must determine whether the art canvas is a “fabric of chapter 59” within the meaning of the exclusion in paragraph (c)(3)(ii). Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) H007440, dated November 9, 2007, addresses this question. Like NY N326416, HQ H007440 concerned the country of origin of prepared art canvas that was manufactured from coated cotton fabric from India that was shipped to China to be cut, stretched, and attached to a wooden frame. In response to a public comment calling for CBP to utilize the rules of origin of 19 U.S.C. § 3592 and claiming that canvases were ‘fabrics’ as defined under the HTSUS, CBP stated in HQ H007440: “At issue is the correct meaning of the specific term “fabric.” The Court of International Trade has defined the term fabric as “a cloth produced [especially] by knitting, weaving, or felting fibers.” Pac Fung Feather Company and Natural Feather & Textiles v. United States, 19 CIT 1451, 1459 (1995) citing THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY 484 (2d 1982). This definition applies only to the cotton component of the subject article, prior to its assembly with the wooden frame. The cotton itself is a “cloth produced...by weaving....” Contrary to counsel's assertion, however, the completed artist canvas is not a mere “fabric.” After assembly, the woven cotton loses its individual identity as a fabric and becomes an integral part of the completed article - the framed artist canvas. The exact point in the processing at which the fabric became an integral part of the finished article occurred when the canvas was permanently stapled 3 to its wooden frame. Coraggio Design, Inc. v. United States, 12 CIT 143, 145 (1988) (The point in the processing at which material becomes a partly finished article must be determined on the basis of the circumstances of each case). From that point, the identity of the cotton fabric is permanently altered because it has only one potential application - its use as a framed painting surface. See HQ 956965, December 13, 1994. Because the artist canvas does not meet the definition of the term “fabric,” § 3592(b)(1)(C) is inapplicable. The country of origin for the artist canvas cannot be determined by the country in which the fabric was produced.” Similarly, the art canvas at issue in NY N326416 is not a “fabric of chapter 59” within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. § 3592(b)(1)(C) and 19 C.F.R. § 102.21(c)(3)(ii). There is no dispute that the polyester and cotton component from India is considered a “fabric.” However, the fabric from India loses its identity as fabric when assembled with the wooden frame in China. In China, the fabric and wooden frame become a distinct, finished article of textile – a prepared painting canvas. Therefore, section 102.21(c)(3)(ii) can be applied. Section 102.21(b)(6) defines the term “wholly assembled” in pertinent part: The term “wholly assembled” when used with reference to a good means that all components, of which there must be at least two, preexisted in essentially the same condition as found in the finished good and were combined to form the finished good in a single country, territory, or insular possession. NY N326416 correctly determined that the finished art canvas meets the definition of “wholly assembled” since its component pieces - the canvas and the wooden frame - preexisted in essentially the same condition as found in the finished good. Thus, per section 102.21(c)(3)(ii) the country of origin is where the canvas was wholly assembled – that is, China. HOLDING: The country of origin of the art canvas is China. EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS: NY N326416, dated February 2, 2023, is MODIFIED. In accordance with 19 U.S.C. § 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin. Sincerely, Yuliya A. Gulis, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division 4