The tariff classification and status under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) of a sports bra.

N028718 June 18, 2008 CLA-2-62:OT:RR:NC:TAB:354 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 6212.10.9020 Mr. Herman Yau Eclat Elastic Textile 501 7th Avenue, Suite 516 New York, N.Y. 10018 RE: The tariff classification and status under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) of a sports bra. Dear Mr. Yau: In your letter dated May 8, 2008 you requested a classification ruling. You have submitted a sample of a woman’s sports bra, style #07W30, made up of 94% nylon and 6% spandex tightly knit fabric. The seamless bra features two-ply fabric, a 1½ inch ribbed knit bottom band, a racer styled back, and fabric capping at the neck and arm openings. The applicable subheading for style #07W30 will be 6212.10.9020, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders, garters and similar articles and parts thereof, whether or not knitted or crocheted: brassieres: other: other: of man-made fibers. The duty rate will be 16.9% ad valorem. 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 http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/. The brassiere falls within textile category 649. With the exception of certain products of China, quota/visa requirements are no longer applicable for merchandise which is the product of World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries. Quota and visa requirements are the result of international agreements that are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes. To obtain the most current information on quota and visa requirements applicable to this merchandise, we suggest you check, close to the time of shipment, the “Textile Status Report for Absolute Quotas” which is available on our web site at www.cbp.gov. For current information regarding possible textile safeguard actions on goods from China and related issues, we refer you to the web site of the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the Department of Commerce at otexa.ita.doc.gov. You have submitted a sample of a two-ply tubular knit fabric article with a self-start bottom and lines of demarcation that indicate where to cut the neck and arm openings of the brassiere. The tubular knit article will be knitted in China and shipped to Lesotho for cutting along the lines of demarcation and sewing to create the finished garment. Subheading 9819.11.12, HTSUS, provides for: Apparel articles wholly assembled, or knit-to-shape and wholly assembled, or both, in one or more such lesser developed countries enumerated in U.S. note 2(d) to this subchapter, subject to the provisions of U.S. note 2 to this subchapter, regardless of the country of origin of the fabric or the yarn used to make such articles, if entered during the period beginning on the date announced in a Federal Register notice issued by the United States Trade Representative and continuing through September 30, 2012, inclusive. As provided for in U.S. Note 2(d), Subchapter XIX, HTSUS, the Kingdom of Lesotho is a designated lesser developed beneficiary country. The provisions of the AGOA only allow for foreign yarn or fabric to be used in the manufacture of apparel articles in lesser developed countries. It does not extend duty-free treatment to foreign formed textile components (i.e. cut-to-shape or knit-to-shape components – see HQ 965781 dated September 25, 2002 and HQ 562612 dated April 30, 2003). To determine whether the sample you submitted may be used in apparel that will qualify for preferential treatment under the AGOA, we must first decide whether the sample is foreign fabric to be used in the manufacture of apparel articles or consists of foreign formed textile components. The identifiable components within the sample are dedicated for use and possess the approximate shape of the finished brassiere. The components have been clearly demarcated to identify cutting and require only minimal cutting to the shape of the brassiere. Consequently, the sample consists of foreign formed textile components, not fabric components.  In this regard, style #07W30 is not eligible for preferential treatment under subheading 9819.11.12, HTSUS, because it is a tubular knit textile component that is cut along the lines of demarcation and sewn in an AGOA lesser developed country from “textile components” formed in China, not fabric. 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 Deborah Marinucci at 646-733-3054. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division