African Growth and Opportunity Act; men's shirts; subheading 9819.11.06; subheading 9819.11.09; findings and trimmings

HQ 562435 September 25, 2002 MAR-2 RR:CR:SM 562435 KSG CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NOS.: 9819.11.06, 9819.11.09 Frank J. Desiderio, Esq. Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP 245 Park Avenue 33rd Floor New York, NY 10167-3397 RE: African Growth and Opportunity Act; men's shirts; subheading 9819.11.06; subheading 9819.11.09; findings and trimmings Dear Mr Desiderio: This is in response to your letter of May 23, 2002, requesting a binding ruling on behalf of Tommy Hilfiger Sportswear, Inc., regarding the eligibility of certain men’s shirts for duty-free treatment under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (“AGOA”). You submitted a sample shirt for our examination that is not comprised of the fabric that will be used to manufacture the actual garment. FACTS: Tommy Hilfiger Sportswear, Inc. proposes to import a men's cotton woven shirt, which is classified in subheading 6205.20.20, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States ("HTSUS"). The shirt features long sleeves, a full frontal opening with a front placket, button closures, a collar, button cuffs and a hemmed bottom. The fabric used for the body of the shirt, exclusive of six ancillary components, is 100% woven cotton fabric which will be manufactured in the U.S. or in the alternative, in an AGOA beneficiary country. The following six ancillary garment components will be incorporated into the garment: 1) inside collar band; 2) outside collar band; 3) undercollar; 4) tri label piece; 5) under cuff; and 6) v-insert at side seam The fabric for the outer shell of the shirt is formed in either the U.S. from U.S. yarns or one or more AGOA beneficiary countries from yarns originating in the U.S. or an AGOA beneficiary country. The ancillary components are formed from fabric that does not originate in either the U.S. or an AGOA beneficiary country. All fabric is cut and assembled using U.S.-origin thread into a shirt in Mauritius. ISSUE: Whether the men's shirt, manufactured as described above, is eligible for duty-free treatment under the AGOA. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Title I of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, Pub. L 106-200, 114 Stat. 251, May 18, 2000, referred to as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (“AGOA”), seeks to promote trade opportunities between the U.S. and the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The AGOA provides for the extension of duty-free treatment under the GSP to non-textile articles normally excluded from GSP duty-free treatment that are not import sensitive; and the entry of specific textile and apparel articles free of duty. In order to implement the AGOA, Customs issued Interim Regulations in T.D. 00-67, 65 Fed. Reg. 59668, which became effective October 1, 2000. With regard to the textile and apparel provisions, the law became effective on October 1, 2000, and shall remain in effect through September 30, 2008. See Sec. 112(f), AGOA. The enhanced trade benefits provided by the AGOA are available to eligible textile and apparel articles imported directly from a country (1) that is designated as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country and (2) which the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) has determined by a proclamation published in the Federal Register has satisfied the requirements of the AGOA and therefore should be afforded the tariff treatment authorized in such Act. Such countries shall be enumerated in U.S. Note 1, Subchapter XIX, Chapter 98, HTSUS, whenever the USTR issues a Federal Register notice as described herein. See Presidential Proclamation 7350, Annex, dated October 2, 2000, 65 Fed. Reg. 59321. Mauritius was designated as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country under AGOA by Presidential Proclamation 7350. The USTR issued a determination finding that Mauritius has adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to prevent unlawful transshipment and the use of counterfeit documents in connection with shipments of textile and apparel articles and has implemented and follows, or is making substantial progress toward implementing and following, the customs procedures required by the AGOA, effective March 7, 2001. See 66 Fed. Reg. 14425, dated March 12, 2001. Subheading 9819.11.06 provides for the duty free entry of: Apparel articles cut in one or more such countries from fabric wholly formed in the United States from yarns wholly formed in the United States (including fabrics not formed from yarns, if such fabrics are classifiable in heading 5602 or 5603 and are wholly formed in the United States), where such articles are assembled in one or more such countries with thread formed in the United States Subheading 9819.11.09, HTSUS, provides for the duty free entry of: Apparel articles wholly assembled in one or more such countries from fabric wholly formed in one or more such countries from yarn originating in either the United States or one or more such countries (including fabrics not formed from yarns, if such fabrics are classifiable under heading 5602 or 5603 and are wholly formed and cut in one or more such countries), subject to the provisions of U.S. note 2 to this subchapter. Subchapter XIX, U.S. Note 3(a), HTSUS, provides:An article otherwise eligible for preferential treatment under any provision of this subchapter shall not be ineligible for such treatment because the article contains— (i) findings or trimmings of foreign origin, if the value of such findings and trimmings does not exceed 25 percent of the cost of the components of the assembled article[.] Subchapter XIX, U.S. Note 3(b), HTSUS, provides: For purposes of subdivision (a)(i) above, findings or trimmings eligible under such subdivision include sewing thread, hooks and eyes, snaps, buttons, “bow buds”, decorative lace trim, elastic strips, and zippers, including zipper tapes, and labels. Elastic strips are considered findings or trimmings only if they are each less than 2.54 cm [1 inch] in width and used in the production of brassieres. For purposes of articles described in subheading 9819.11.06, sewing thread shall not be considered to be findings or trimmings. “Findings” are generally accepted to be sewing essentials used in textile goods while “trimmings” are decorative or ornamental parts. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HRL”) 965076, dated April 18, 2002. In this instance, the six ancillary components are textile fabric components that we believe are beyond the scope of "findings" and "trimmings." None of the components are sewing essentials such as buttons or zipper tapes or otherwise analogous to any of the findings examples set forth in Subchapter XIX, U.S. Note 3(b), HTSUS, and therefore, they would not be considered "findings." In HRL 559738, dated July 2, 1996, Customs held that a suede yoke and elbow patches for a jacket did not constitute "findings" or "trimmings" as they served more than just a decorative purpose, unlike lace trim for instance. Although the inside collar band, outside collar band, undercollar, tri label piece and under cuff are in a contrasting color to the remainder of the shirt, they are similar to the suede yoke and elbow patches that were the subject of HRL 559738 in that they clearly serve more than just a decorative purpose. The v-insert piece, while a styling feature of the garment, is a part of the shirttail integral to the design of the bottom of the shirttail. Therefore, we find that the six ancillary components are not "trimmings."  Therefore, in regard to the facts of this case, the shirts would not be eligible for AGOA tariff treatment because the ancillary components are made of foreign origin fabrics and are not considered "findings" or "trimmings."  HOLDING: Based on the information provided, the men’s shirt, manufactured as described in this case, is not eligible for preferential treatment under the AGOA. A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction. Sincerely, Myles B. Harmon, Acting Director Commercial Rulings Division