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HQ 731580

March 15, 1989

MAR-2-05 731580 jd

CATEGORY: MARKING

Gail T. Cumins, Esq.
Sharretts, Paley, Carter & Blauvelt, P.C. 80 Broad Street
New York, New York 10004

RE: Country of origin marking requirements applicable to women's blouses

Dear Ms. Cumins:

This is in reply to your letter of July 5, 1988, requesting a binding ruling on the country of origin of imported women's blouses for purposes of marking, classification and quota.

FACTS:

According to your submission, your client imports blouses, either plain or embroidered, from Haiti. The plain blouses are manufactured in the following manner: piece goods from Korea or Japan are sent to Costa Rica where they are cut into parts; the cut components, along with buttons, shoulder pads and labels of U.S. origin, are sent to Haiti; in Haiti, pieces, including front panels, back panels, cuffs, sleeves and collars are sewn together with the U.S. components to form a finished blouse. The steps in assembling a finished blouse are (1) shoulder joining, (2) sleeve setting, (3) collar setting, (4) sleeve closing, (5) button hemmings, (6) button holes, (7) button sewing and (8) attaching trim.

Embroidered blouses are manufactured in a similar fashion except that in Costa Rica the cut pieces are embroidered before being sent to Haiti.

ISSUE:

What is the country of origin of women's blouses made from fabric from Korea or Japan which is cut into parts in Costa Rica and sewn into finished articles in Haiti?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit, in such a
manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article.

Because the articles in question are textile products subject to { 204 of the Agricultural Act of 1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854), { 12.130, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 12.130), is applicable. For purposes of determining the country of origin of a textile product produced from materials from more than one country, { 12.130(b) provides that the country of origin of the textile product shall be that country where it last underwent a substantial transformation. A textile product will be considered to have undergone a substantial transformation if it has been transformed by means of substantial manufacturing or processing operations into a new and different article of commerce.

Section 12.130(e)(v), Customs Regulations, states that substantial assembly by sewing and/or tailoring of all cut pieces of apparel articles which have been cut from fabric in another foreign territory, country or insular possession, into a completed garment (e.g., the complete assembly and tailoring of all cut pieces of suit-type jackets, suits and shirts) will usually result in the processing country being the country of origin.

In Customs ruling 731907 (December 8, 1988), fabric from Hong Kong (or another Far East country) was cut in Brunei and sewn into a finished article in the Philippines. Because the requesting party did not provide adequate descriptions of the manufacturing steps, our determination was that the Philippines was probably the country of origin. In ruling 728258 (August 30, 1985), fabric from the Orient was cut into parts in the U.S. and sent to Haiti to be sewn into finished shirts. Because of a lack of samples, we gave a nonbinding ruling that the finished shirts should be labeled as products of Haiti for purposes of 19 U.S.C 1304.

Without samples of the components assembled in Haiti and the completed garments we cannot provide you with a binding ruling as to the proper country of origin for purposes of marking. However, based on your description of the manufacturing steps that take place in Haiti, it appears that the merchandise undergoes a substantial transformation in Haiti and that the blouses should be marked "Haiti" for purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1304.

HOLDING:

Based on the above considerations, it appears that the subject women's blouses are products of Haiti for country of origin marking, classification and quota purposes.

Sincerely,

Marvin M. Amernick
Chief, Value, Special Programs and

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