The tariff classification and status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), of jackets from Mexico; Article 509

N122398 October 7, 2010 CLA-2-62:OT:RR:NC:TA:348 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 6210.40.5040; 6201.93.3511; 6201.92.2051 Ms. Carolina Alvarez IFR Workwear Inc. #14, 7896-49 Ave. Red Deer, AB T4P 2K2 Canada RE: The tariff classification and status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), of jackets from Mexico; Article 509 Dear Ms. Alvarez: In your letter dated August 12, 2010, you requested a ruling on the status of jackets from Mexico under the NAFTA. The samples are being returned as requested. Each of the garments is made for industrial applications and protects workers from risks associated with flash fires, arc flash or other electrical or heat exposure. They are made from flame resistant fabric. Although depicted in the attached documentation as being worn by both men and women, the garments are made according to men’s cutting specifications. Accordingly, they are classifiable as men’s. Style 210 Nomex IIIA-Hydra Insulated Parka has a shell made from a woven Nomex IIIA-Hydra 6-ounce synthetic fabric composed of 93% Nomex, 5% Kevlar and 2% carbon (for anti-static performance) that is laminated to a visible ePTFE plastic film that provides a wind and moisture barrier. The jacket has a full front opening with a two-way zipper closure covered by a flap with hook and loop closures, a standup collar with hook and loop closures at the throat, patch pockets with snapped flaps at the waist and in the chest, knit storm cuffs, an inner drawstring with cord locks at the waist, a gusseted back panel and a woven lining quilted to a 7-ounce nonwoven modacrylic insulation. It has reflective tape on contrasting high-visibility fabric strips on the front and back panels and on the lower part of the sleeves. Style 215 Nomex IIIA Insulated Parka has a shell made from a woven Nomex IIIA 6-ounce synthetic fabric composed of 93% Nomex, 5% Kevlar and 2% carbon (for anti-static performance). The jacket has a full front opening with a two-way zipper closure covered by a flap with snaps, a standup collar with hook and loop closures at the throat, patch pockets with snapped flaps at the waist and in the chest, knit storm cuffs, an inner drawstring with cord locks at the waist, a gusseted back panel and a woven lining quilted to a 7-ounce nonwoven modacrylic insulation. It has reflective tape on contrasting high-visibility fabric strips on the front and back panels and on the lower part of the sleeves. Style 215 Kermel Insulated Parka has a shell made from a woven Kermel 6-ounce synthetic fabric composed of 99% Kermel (an aramid fiber) and 1% carbon (for anti-static performance). The jacket has a full front opening with a two-way zipper closure covered by a flap with snaps, a standup collar with hook and loop closures at the throat, patch pockets with snapped flaps at the waist and in the chest, knit storm cuffs, an inner drawstring with cord locks at the waist, a gusseted back panel and a woven lining quilted to a 7-ounce nonwoven modacrylic insulation. It has reflective tape on contrasting high-visibility fabric strips on the front and back panels and on the lower part of the sleeves. Style 215 Indura Ultrasoft Insulated Parka has a shell made from a woven 88% cotton/12% high-tenacity nylon fabric. The jacket has a full front opening with a two-way zipper closure covered by a flap with snaps, a standup collar with hook and loop closures at the throat, patch pockets with snapped flaps at the waist and in the chest, knit storm cuffs, an inner drawstring with cord locks at the waist, a gusseted back panel and a woven lining quilted to a 7-ounce nonwoven modacrylic insulation. It has reflective tape on contrasting high-visibility fabric strips on the front and back panels and on the lower part of the sleeves. Style 218 Indura Insulated Parka has a shell made from a woven Indura 9-ounce 100% cotton fabric. The jacket has a full front opening with a two-way zipper closure covered by a flap with snaps, a standup collar with hook and loop closures at the throat, patch pockets with snapped flaps at the waist and in the chest, knit storm cuffs and a woven lining quilted to a 7-ounce nonwoven modacrylic insulation. It has reflective tape on contrasting high-visibility fabric strips on the front and back panels and on the lower part of the sleeves. The applicable tariff provision for style 210 Nomex IIIA-Hydra Insulated Parka will be 6210.40.5040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for other men’s or boys’ garments, of man-made fibers, made up of fabrics of heading 5602, 5603, 5903, 5906 or 5907: overalls and coveralls. The general rate of duty will be 7.1 percent ad valorem. The applicable tariff provision for styles 215 Nomex IIIA and Kermel will be 6201.93.3511, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for other men’s anoraks (including ski-jackets), windbreakers and similar articles, of man-made fibers. The general rate of duty will be 27.7 percent ad valorem. The applicable tariff provision for style 215 Indura Ultrasoft and 218 Indura will be 6201.92.2051, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for other men’s anoraks (including ski-jackets), windbreakers and similar articles, of cotton. The general rate of duty will be 9.4 percent 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 manufacturing operations are as follows: For style 210, Nomex IIIA-Hydra Insulated Parka, fiber produced in the United States is shipped to Canada and is spun into yarn. The yarns are woven into fabric in Canada. The fabric is shipped to Mexico and cut into parts and sewn into garments. The reflective trim is manufactured in Canada from fabric manufactured in Canada. The origin of the yarns and fibers is unknown. Other components include labels made in Hong Kong, hook and loop closures, trim, thread, and snaps, whose origin is not identified. For 215 Nomex IIIA- Insulated Parka, fiber produced in the United States is shipped to Canada and is spun into yarn. In Canada, the yarn is woven into fabric. The fabric is shipped to Mexico and cut into parts and sewn into garments. The reflective trim is manufactured in Canada from fabric manufactured in Canada. The origin of the yarns and fibers are unknown. Other components include labels made in Hong Kong, hook and loop closures, trim, thread, and snaps, whose origin is not identified. For style 215 Kermel Insulated Parka, the Canadian yarns are woven into fabric in the United States. The fabric is shipped to Mexico and cut into parts and sewn into garments. The reflective trim is manufactured in Canada from fabric manufactured in Canada. The origin of the yarns and fibers is unknown. Other components include labels made in Hong Kong, hook and loop closures, trim, thread, and snaps, whose origin is not identified. For style 215 Indura Ultrasoft Insulated Parka, the fibers and yarns are produced in the United States. The yarns are woven into fabric in the United States. The fabric is shipped to Mexico where it is cut into parts and sewn into garments. The reflective trim is manufactured in Canada from fabric manufactured in Canada. The origin of the yarns and fibers is unknown. Other components include labels made in Hong Kong, hook and loop closures, trim, thread, and snaps, whose origin is not identified. For style 218 Indura Insulated Parka, the yarns are produced in the United States. The yarns are woven into fabric in the United States. The fabric is shipped to Mexico where it is cut into parts and sewn into garments. The reflective trim is manufactured in Canada from fabric manufactured in Canada. The origin of the yarns and fibers is unknown. Other components include labels made in Hong Kong, hook and loop closures, trim, thread, and snaps, whose origin is not identified. General Note 12(b), HTSUS, sets forth the criteria for determining whether a good is originating under the NAFTA. General Note 12(b), HTSUS, (19 U.S.C. § 1202) states, in pertinent part, that For the purposes of this note, goods imported into the customs territory of the United States are eligible for the tariff treatment and quantitative limitations set forth in the tariff schedule as "goods originating in the territory of a NAFTA party" only if— they are goods wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States; or they have been transformed in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States so that— (A) except as provided in subdivision (f) of this note, each of the non-originating materials used in the production of such goods undergoes a change in tariff classification described in subdivisions (r), (s) and (t) of this note or the rules set forth therein, or (B) the goods otherwise satisfy the applicable requirements of subdivisions (r), (s) and (t) where no change in tariff classification is required, and the goods satisfy all other requirements of this note; or (iii) they are goods produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States exclusively from originating materials; or (iv) they are produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States but one or more of the nonoriginating materials falling under provisions for "parts" and used in the production of such goods does not undergo a change in tariff classification because— (A) the goods were imported into the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States in unassembled or disassembled form but were classified as assembled goods pursuant to general rule of interpretation 2(a), or (B) the tariff headings for such goods provide for and specifically describe both the goods themselves and their parts and is not further divided into subheadings, or the subheadings for such goods provide for and specifically describe both the goods themselves and their parts, provided that such goods do not fall under chapters 61 through 63, inclusive, of the tariff schedule, and provided further that the regional value content of such goods, determined in accordance with subdivision (c) of this note, is not less than 60 percent where the transaction value method is used, or is not less than 50 percent where the net cost method is used, and such goods satisfy all other applicable provisions of this note. Chapter 62, Chapter rule 3, states in pertinent part: For purposes of determining whether a good of this chapter is originating, the rule applicable to that good shall only apply to the component that determines the tariff classification of the good and such component must satisfy the tariff change requirements set out in the rule for that good. The chapter rule directs that only the component that determines the tariff classification must meet the terms of the shift rule.  The fabric for the body of the garment is the component that determines the classification.  Since the fabric for Styles 210, Nomex IIIA-Hydra Insulated Parka, 215 Nomex IIIA- Insulated Parka and 215 Indura Ultrasoft Insulated Parka, is stated to be an originating material, they do not have to meet the terms of the tariff shift rule.  Based on the facts provided, Styles 210, Nomex IIIA-Hydra Insulated Parka, 215 Nomex IIIA- Insulated Parka and 215 Indura Ultrasoft Insulated Parka qualifies for NAFTA preferential treatment, because it meets the requirements HTSUS General Note 12(b)(ii)(A). The merchandise will therefore be entitled to a free rate of duty under the NAFTA upon compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and agreements. We are unable to rule on the NAFTA status of styles 215 Kermel Insulated Parka and 218 Indura Insulated Parka, because we need to know where the man-made fiber was extruded and the cotton fiber was produced. As a product of Mexico, each garment should be legibly, conspicuously and permanently marked “Made in” or “Product of” Mexico. The accepted location for the outerwear jackets is in the center of the neck. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 181). 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 classification, contact National Import Specialist William Raftery at (646) 733-3047. If you have any questions regarding the eligibility under NAFTA, contact National Import Specialist Rosemarie Hayward at (646) 733-3064. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division