HQ 956117 - Country of Origin Marking of T-Shirts Made in United States and Printed in Canada - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 956117

March 31, 1994

CLA-2:CO:R:C:G 956117 PR

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

Ms. Helen I. Sugar
The Buffalo Customhouse Brokerage Co., Inc. Peace Bridge Plaza Warehouse, Suite 211
Buffalo, New York 14213

RE: Country of Origin Marking of T-Shirts Made in United States and Printed in Canada

Dear Ms. Sugar:

This is in reply to your letter of October 20, 1993, on behalf of Leitfoil, Inc., concerning the country of origin of T- shirts. Our ruling on the matter follows.

FACTS:

Unisex T-shirts, wholly of cotton, are produced in the United States and sent to Canada where designs are printed on them. The T-shirts may also be decorated in Canada with foil manufactured in the United States in sheet form. Samples of the garments were not received in this office.

ISSUE:

The issues raised are (1) whether the printing prevents the garments from being classified under heading 6109, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA),and (2) whether the T-shirts can be labeled as products of the United States.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Heading 6109, HTSUSA, provides for, among other things, T- shirts and similar articles. Printing and minor decorating with foil would not normally preclude the classification of garments under heading 6109. However, without a sample of the goods to be imported, we are unable to determine the classification applicable to those goods.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) marking rules, set forth in interim Part 102, Customs Regulations (T.D. 94-4) are used to determine when an imported good is a good of Canada or Mexico for country of origin marking purposes. ?102.14 provides that a good last advanced in value or improved in condition outside the United States does not have United States origin. If, under any other provision of this part, such a good is determined to be a good of the United States, that determination will be disregarded and the country of origin of the good will be the last foreign country in which the good was advanced in value or improved in condition.

Under ?102.1(a), advanced in value means an increase in the value of a good as a result of production with respect to that good other than by means of those "minor processing" operations described in paragraphs (m)(5), (m)(6), and (m)(7) of that section (none of which are applicable here). Since the T-shirts are advanced in value in Canada, pursuant to ?102.14, the country of origin of the shirts for marking purposes is Canada.

Interim ?134.43(e) provides that where the country of origin of an article is determined in accordance with ?102.14, the article may be marked in a manner such as further processed in Canada from United States materials; or product of Canada from foreign components; or product of Canada.

HOLDING:

For marking purposes, the country of origin of the subject T-shirts is Canada.

This ruling is issued pursuant to the provisions of sections 181.91 through 181.102, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 181.91-102). If the specific factual situation described above is incorrect or if it changes, this ruling may not be valid. In such an event, it is recommended that a new ruling request be submitted.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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