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NY 890633




October 22, 1993

CLA-2-61:S:N:N5:356 890633

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6105.20.2010

Ms. Maureen Shoule
J.W. Hampton, Jr. & Co., Inc.
15 Park Row
New York, New York 10038

RE: The tariff classification of a man's knit shirt from Korea.

Dear Ms. Shoule:

In your letter dated September 22, 1993, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of Daewoo International (America) Corp., and a country of origin determination for quota and marking purposes.

Style No. DW 1 is a man's short sleeved shirt which is constructed from 65 percent polyester, 35 percent cotton, interlock knit fabric that measures more than 10 stitches per linear centimeter counted in both the horizontal and vertical directions. The garment features a rib knit spread collar; a partial front opening with a two button placket; short sleeves with rib knit cuffs; and a hemmed bottom with side slits and a tail.

In your letter, you state that the yarn, thread, buttons, hangers, labels, hang tags, polybags, and cartons are manufactured in Korea; the yarn is knit, dyed and set in Korea; and the material is cut to shape in Korea. All the components are then shipped to the People's Republic of China where the cut material, buttons, etc., are assembled into polo shirts. You indicate that the assembly process in China consists of a simple sewing together of two or more pieces. The assembled garment is then hung on a hanger, put into a polybag, and packed into a carton for export to the United States.

You have submitted a sample of the unassembled garment in the condition as exported from Korea, as well as a sample of the finished product after assembly in China. You have also submitted a cost breakdown which shows that 84 percent of the total value of the goods is Korean and 16 percent of the total value of the goods is Chinese.

Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Section 12.130, states that a textile product subject to the regulations shall be the product of the country where the whole of its growth, production, or manufacture occurs. If the product is made of materials produced or derived from, or processed in, more than one foreign country, then the country of origin shall be that in which the product last underwent a substantial transformation.

Style No. DW 1 has all its component parts manufactured in Korea, and the fabric is cut to shape in Korea. An examination of the garment pieces and the finished garment indicates that the assembly operations required to complete the garment are fairly simple sewing operations which do not require highly skilled workers or a substantial amount of time. Consequently, we do not believe that these simple assembly operations constitute a substantial manufacturing or processing operation as described in 19 C.F.R., Section 12.130. The country of origin of this garment for quota and marking purposes, therefore, is Korea.

Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304) provides that articles of foreign origin imported into the United States must be legibly, conspicuously and permanently marked to indicate the country of origin to the ultimate purchaser in the United States. Wearing apparel such as the garment in question must be legibly and conspicuously marked with the name of the country of origin by means of a fabric label sewn or otherwise permanently affixed on the inside center of the neck midway between the shoulder seams or in that immediate area. In addition, this garment is subject to the requirements of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act. You should contact the Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. for information on these requirements.

As requested, your samples will be returned.

The applicable subheading for Style No. DW 1 will be 6105.20.2010, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for: men's or boys' shirts, knitted or crocheted: of man-made fibers: other: men's. The duty rate will be 34.6 percent ad valorem.

This garment falls within textile category designation 638. Based upon international textile trade agreements, products of Korea are subject to visa requirements and quota restraints.

The designated textile and apparel category may be subdivided into parts. If so, visa and quota requirements applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected. Since part categories are the result of international bilateral agreements which are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes, to obtain the most current information available, we suggest that you check, close to the time of shipment, the Status Report On Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an internal issuance of the U.S. Customs Service, which is available for inspection at your local Customs office.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have already been filed, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director

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