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HQ 554929


November 3, 1988

CLA-2 CO:R:C:V 554929 DBI

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 9802.00.80; 807.00

Edwin C. Bullock, Esq.
Kuhn and Miller
1412 Broadway
New York, New York 10018

RE: Applicability of partial duty exemption of item 807.00, TSUS, to children's headwear

Dear Mr. Bullock:

This is in response to your letter dated February 17, 1988, in which you request a ruling concerning the applicability of item 807.00, Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS), to children's headwear that will be imported by your client from the Dominican Republic.

FACTS:

You advise that component parts of children's headwear will be produced in the U.S. out of textile material imported from the Far East. In its imported condition the textiles will be in the form of greige goods. After importation, the greige goods will be subjected to the following six processes:

1. Singeing - running them over an open flame at high speed and then directly into water to remove surface hair, which prevents pilling.

2. Desizing - soaking them in an enzyme bath, which eats away the sizing materials which were used in the weaving process.

3. Scouring - cleaning them in a mixture of hot water and caustic agents.

4. Bleaching - bleaching them with a peroxide bleach to remove motes and achieve whiteness.

5. Finishing - stabilizing them with a crease resistant finish which decreases susceptibility to wrinkling and also provides shrinkage control.

6. Cutting - cutting them into the size and shape of headwear parts.

After these operations are completed, the cut pieces will be shipped to the Dominican Republic to be assembled.

You have noted that this request concerns the qualification of the cut pieces as products of the U.S. prior to exportation to the Dominican Republic, and does not concern whether the operations performed abroad constitute acceptable assembly operations under item 807.00, TSUS.

ISSUE:

Whether the described headwear components exported to the Dominican Republic for assembly into children's headwear qualify as products of the U.S. for purposes of item 807.00, TSUS (9802.00.80, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Item 807.00, TSUS, applies to articles assembled abroad in whole or in part of fabricated components, the products of the U.S., with no operations performed thereon except the attachment of the components to form the imported merchandise and operations incidental thereto. An article classified under item 807.00, TSUS, is subject to duty upon the full appraised value of the imported article, less the cost or value of such products of the U.S.

Section 10.14(b) of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.14(b)), provides that foreign-made articles or materials may become products of the U.S. for purposes of item 807.00, TSUS, if they undergo a process of manufacture in the U.S. which results in their substantial transformation. According to this provision, 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.

We have previously held that the cutting of garment parts from fabric will result in a substantial transformation of the fabric. T.D. 85-38, 19 Cust. Bull. 58 (1985).

In the present case, it is our opinion that the cutting to size and shape alone is sufficient to result in a substantial transformation of the imported fabric into a U.S. product. The greige goods have been transformed into goods that have a specific pattern and, therefore, are only suitable to be used in the assembly of children's headwear. Clearly this is a different article having a distinctive use which is different from that originally possessed by the material.

HOLDING:

On the basis of the information submitted, it is our opinion that the described processing of the imported foreign- made fabric in the U.S. substantially transforms the fabric into fabricated components, the product of the U.S., within the meaning of item 807.00, TSUS.

Sincerely,


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