THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF A PILLOW SHELL MADE IN BANGLADESH AND STUFFED AND CLOSED IN THE UNITED STATES

N273131 March 18, 2016 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N4:433 CATEGORY: MARKING Brad A. Carlson MyPillow 343 82nd Street, East Suite 102 Chaska, MN 55318 RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF A PILLOW SHELL MADE IN BANGLADESH AND STUFFED AND CLOSED IN THE UNITED STATES Dear Mr. Carlson: This is in response to your letter dated January 27, 2016, requesting a ruling on whether a pillow shell made in Bangladesh and stuffed and closed in the United States is a product of the United States for county of origin marking purposes. We note that the finished product assembled in the United States is a MyPillow®, pillow. The MyPillow® shell (Bangladesh) is imported into the United States as an unfinished product. The shell is sewn on three sides and has an opening on one end. It is made of 100% cotton. Your company has been advised to classify the imported shell using GRI 1 under subheading 6307.90.8945 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). This classification for the shell is consistent with both Headquarters and New York rulings. The United States manufacturing process is outlined below: (1) Large foam blocks which are made in the United States are placed in a grinding machine and reduced to small pieces which are designed to become the pillow fill. (2) The reduced foam is placed into the shell and then the pillow is filled and weighed to be sure that each pillow has the proper amount of fill per exact product specifications. (3) The open end of the pillow shell is then sewn to properly contain the filled pillow and then labeled accordingly. On December 8, 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), Public Law 103-465, 108 Stat. 4809. Subtitle D of Title III of URAA deals with textiles and includes section 334 (codified at 19 U.S.C. 3592) which concerns rules of origin for textile and apparel products. Paragraph (a) of section 334 provides that the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe rules implementing the principles contained in paragraph (b) for determining the origin of “textiles and apparel products.” Section 334(b)(1) of the URAA sets forth general principles concerning how the origin of textile and apparel products should be determined. That section provides in pertinent part as follows: Except as otherwise provided for by statute, a textile or apparel product, for purposes of the customs laws and the administration of quantitative restrictions, originates in a country, territory, or insular possession, and is the growth, product, or manufacture of that country, territory, or insular possession, if – (A) the product is wholly obtained or produced in that country, territory or insular possessions; (B) the product is a yarn, thread, twine, cordage, rope, cable or braiding and- (i) the constituent staple fibers are spun in that country, territory, or possession, or (ii) the continuous filament is extruded in that country, territory, or possession, (C) the product is a fabric, including a fabric classified under chapter 59 of the HTS, and the constituent fibers, filaments or yarns are woven, knitted, needled, tufted, felted, entangled or transformed by any other fabric-making process in that country, territory, or possession from its component pieces; or (D) the product is any other textile or apparel product that is wholly assembled in that country, territory, or possession from its component pieces. (2) Special Rules - Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(D)- (A) the origin of a good that is classified under one of the following HTS headings or subheadings shall be determinant in accordance with paragraph (A),(B), or (C) of paragraph (1), as appropriate: 5609, 5807, 5811, 6209.20.50.40, 6213, 6214, 6301, 6302, 6303, 6304, 6305, 6306, 6307.10, 6307.90, 6308, or 9404.90; ... Title 19, Section 3592, of the United States Code (19 U.S.C. §3592) was promulgated to implement the URRA provisions concerning the classification of textiles. CBP published 19 C.F.R. §102.21 in response. See 60 FR 46188. In Pac Fung Feather Co. Ltd. v. United States, 911 F.Supp. 529 (Ct. Int’l. Trade 1995), aff’d 111 F.3d 114 (Fed. Cir. 1997), the Court of International Trade held that CBP’s promulgation of its final regulations concerning the rules of origin for textile and apparel products to be in accordance with the law. 19 C.F.R. §102.21 states, in pertinent part: (a) [T]he provisions of this section will control the determination of the country of origin of imported textile and apparel products for purposes of the Customs laws and the administration of quantitative restrictions. * * * (b) Definitions. The following terms will have the meanings indicated when used in this section: * * * (2) Fabric-making process. A fabric-making process is any manufacturing operation that begins with polymers, fibers, filaments (including strips), yarns, twine, cordage, rope, or fabric strips and results in a textile fabric. * * * (c) General rules … the country of origin of a textile or apparel product will be determined by sequential application of paragraphs (c)(1) through (5) of this section … (1) 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. (2) 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 foreign material 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. * * * (4) Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1), (2) or (3) of this section, the country of origin of the good is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which the most important assembly or manufacturing process occurred. (5) Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1), (2), (3) or (4) of this section, the country of origin of the good is the last country, territory, or insular possession in which an important assembly or manufacturing process occurred. (e) Specific rules by tariff classification. (1) The following rules will apply for purposes of determining the country of origin of a textile or apparel product under paragraph (c)(2) of this section: HTSUS Tariff shift and/or other requirements * * * 9404.90 … the country of origin of a good classifiable under subheading 9404.90 is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the fabric comprising the good was formed by a fabric-making process * * * To determine the country of origin of the instant merchandise, CBP must consider 19 C.F.R. §102.21(c)(1) through (5) in order. The outer shell of the pillow is made in Bangladesh from fabric of unspecified origin and fill material which is a product of the United States. The pillow is assembled and finished in the United States. Because the pillow is not wholly obtained or produced in the United States, the country of origin cannot be determined under 19 C.F.R. §102.21(c)(1). Next, CBP must look to 19 C.F.R. §102.21(c)(2), which in turn directs us to look at 19 C.F.R. §102.21(e). According to 19 C.F.R. §102.21(e)(1), “the country of origin of a good classifiable under subheading 9404.90 is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the fabric comprising the good was formed by a fabric-making process (other requirement as specified by the specific rule by tariff classification).” In this case, the fabric making process is unspecified, nevertheless, for purposes of this ruling, unless to the contrary, the fabric will be taken to be made in Bangladesh, thus making the pillow shell a product of Bangladesh. Based on the specific rule by tariff classification, the country of origin of the finished pillow having a pillow shell made in Bangladesh from fabric of Bangladesh origin, and stuffed with fill material of United States origin and subsequently sewn closed in the United States, is country of origin Bangladesh. See Headquarters rulings HQ 559625 dated January 19, 1996 and HQ H155795 dated May 25, 2011. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 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 Neil H. Levy at neil.h.levy@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Deborah C. Marinucci Acting Director National Commodity Specialist Division