Applicability of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS.

N178057 August 23, 2011 CLA-2-98:OT:RR:NC:NC3:354 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 9802.00.80 Ms. Mary E. Gilmer W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. 551 Paper Mill Road P.O. Box 9206 Newark, DE 19714 RE: Applicability of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS. Dear Ms. Gilmer: In your letter dated July 28, 2011, you requested a ruling regarding the applicability of subheading 9802.00.80, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), to a U.S. made “glove insert” used in the assembly and importation of gloves by third parties unrelated to W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. (Gore). You state in your letter that your request is limited to the 9802 eligibility of the glove insert, which is contained in the glove, and not with the classification of the glove itself. The sample submitted, is a glove insert, which you state is a laminated fabric manufactured by Gore in Elkton, Maryland. A plastic membrane is joined to a purchased nonwoven fabric of man-made polyamide filaments using a polyurethane adhesive by means of a proprietary lamination process. The membrane layer, of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), and the adhesive are manufactured by Gore in Elton, Maryland. The layer of nonwoven fabric, which the membrane is adhered, is made in Japan. The laminated fabric layers are stamped with a hand-shaped knife and simultaneously adhered around the perimeter to produce the hand-shaped glove insert. The aforementioned process, in addition to inspection and packaging, takes place in Elton, Maryland. You state that the Japanese nonwoven fabric layer is substantially transformed in the U.S. into a new and different article due to its lamination to the U.S.-made membrane using U.S. adhesive. You also state that the further cutting and edge sealing of the finished laminate into the hand-shaped glove insert, in Elton, Maryland, serves to transform the Japanese non-woven fabric into a U.S. glove insert. You ask whether the gloves are entitled to the partial duty exemption under HTSUS subheading 9802.00.80.  Subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, provides for a partial duty exemption for articles assembled abroad in whole or in part of fabricated components, the product of the United States, which (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, such as cleaning, lubricating and painting. All three requirements of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, must be satisfied before a component may receive a duty allowance. An article under this tariff provision is subject to duty upon the full cost or value of the imported assembled article, less the cost or value of the U.S. components assembled therein, upon compliance with the documentary requirements of section 10.24, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.24).Section 10.14(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.14(a)), states in part that the components must be in condition ready for assembly without further fabrication at the time of their exportation from the United States to qualify for the exemption. Components will not lose their entitlement to the exemption by being subjected to operations incidental to the assembly before, during, or after their assembly with other components. Section 10.14(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.14(b)), states in part that a substantial transformation occurs when, as a result of manufacturing processes, a new and different article emerges, having a distinctive name, character, or use, which is different from that originally possessed by the article or material before being subjected to the manufacturing process.  Section 10.16(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.16(a)), provides that the assembly operation performed abroad may consist of any method used to join or fit together solid components, such as welding, soldering, riveting, force fitting, gluing, lamination, sewing, or the use of fasteners.Operations incidental to the assembly process are not considered further fabrication operations, as they are of a minor nature and cannot always be provided for in advance of the assembly operations. However, any significant process, operation or treatment whose primary purpose is the fabrication, completion, physical or chemical improvement of a component, precludes the application of the exemption under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, to that component. We are satisfied from the information provided that the U.S. glove inserts meet the requirements of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, and therefore are entitled to the duty allowance available under this tariff provision. The glove inserts are finished components as exported and are in condition ready for assembly when sent to overseas manufacturers. The foreign operations that consist of sewing the inserts into the gloves are considered an acceptable assembly operation within the meaning of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS.  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 Robert Ivers at (646) 733-3054. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division