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HQ 562303





April 11, 2002

CLA-02 RR:CR:SM 562303 CW

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 9819.11.09

Frank J. Desiderio
Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz,
Silverman & Klestadt LLP
245 Park Avenue, 33rd Floor
New York, New York 10167-3397

RE: Eligibility of certain men’s pants assembled in Mauritius for preferential treatment under AGOA

Dear Mr. Desiderio:

This is in response to your letter of January 11, 2002, on behalf of Tommy Hilfiger Sportswear, Inc., requesting a ruling on the eligibility of certain cotton twill pants assembled in Mauritius for preferential treatment under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). A sample of the garment accompanied your request.

FACTS:

You describe the garment under consideration in this case as cotton twill men’s pants with pleated front and two front and two back pockets (Tommy Hilfiger Style FL02). The 100% cotton twill comprising the shell fabric of the garment and the white and blue stripe cotton oxford fabric used for the pocketing and waistband will be formed and cut in Mauritius. The solid white pocketing material is formed in South Africa. However, the crimson poplin bias tape used in the waistband is of Asian origin. You advise that the value of the bias tape does not exceed 25% of the cost of the components of the assembled product. All fabric cutting and garment assembly will occur in Mauritius. Although not stated in your letter, we are assuming for purposes of this ruling that the fabrics formed in Mauritius and South Africa are made from yarns originating in either the U.S. or a designated beneficiary sub-Saharan African country.

You submit that the foreign component (i.e., the crimson cotton poplin bias tape) will not preclude the garment from receiving AGOA preferential treatment under subheading 9819.11.09, HTSUS, because the bias tape qualifies as a “finding or trimming.”

ISSUE:

Whether the cotton twill pants produced in Mauritius as described above will be eligible for preferential tariff and quota treatment under subheading 9819.11.09, HTSUS, when imported into the U.S.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The Trade and Development Act of 2000 (“the Act”) was signed into law on May 18, 2000 (Pub. L. 106-200, 114 Stat. 251). Title I of the Act concerns trade benefits for sub-Saharan Africa and is referred to as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (“AGOA”). Section 112 of the Act (codified at 19 U.S.C. 3721) specifies the textile and apparel articles that are eligible for duty-free and quota-free treatment when imported directly into the customs territory of the U.S. from a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country.

Presidential Proclamation 7350 dated October 2, 2000, published in the Federal Register on October 4, 2000 (65 FR 59321), implemented the AGOA by designating the eligible beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries and amending Chapter 98, Harmonized Tariff of the U.S. (HTSUS) (including the creation of new subchapter XIX) to facilitate the entry of the specific textile and apparel articles eligible for preferential treatment under the AGOA. The textile and apparel trade benefits provided by the AGOA are available to eligible articles imported from countries that the President designates as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, provided that the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) has determined that these countries (1) have adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to prevent unlawful transshipment and use of counterfeit documents, and (2) have implemented and follow, or are making substantial progress toward implementing and following certain customs procedures that allow U.S. Customs to verify the origin of the articles.

Mauritius is among the countries designated by the President as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries in Presidential Proclamation 7350. In addition, effective January 19, 2001, the USTR determined that Mauitius satisfies the two criteria set forth above (see notice published in the Federal Register on January 31, 2001 (66 FR 8440)).

Interim Customs Regulations to implement the trade benefit provisions of the AGOA were published in the Federal Register as T.D. 00-67 on October 5, 2000 (65 FR 59668). Public comments were invited on the Interim Regulations for submission by December 4, 2000.

Section 112(b)(3) of the Act provides, in pertinent part, that preferential treatment applies to –

Apparel articles wholly assembled in one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries from fabric wholly formed in one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries from yarn originating either in the United States or one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries....

Articles meeting the requirements of section 112(b)(3) of the Act are eligible for duty-free and quota-free entry under subheading 9819.11.09, HTSUS, subject to the quantitative limitations set forth in U.S. Note 2, subchapter XIX, Chapter 98, HTSUS. See also section 10.213(a)(4) of the Interim Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.213(a)(4)).

Section 112(d)(1)(A) of the Act provides that:

[a]n article otherwise eligible for preferential treatment under this section shall not be ineligible for such treatment because the article contains findings or trimmings of foreign origin, if the value of such findings and trimmings do not exceed 25 percent of the cost of the components of the assembled article. Examples of findings and trimmings are 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 1 inch in width and used in the production of brassieres.

See also U.S. Note 3(a)(i) and 3(b), subchapter XIX, Chapter 98, HTSUS, and 19 CFR 10.213(b)(1)(i).

As you state in your letter, “bias tape” is defined as:

Long lengths of material cut on the bias from a wide piece; after material is cut, it is folded so that the raw edges are on the inside. It can be made in any width, color and material.... Material for the bias tape should not differ greatly from the material to be bound because this might result in uneven shrinkage. Used to bind the edges of fabric and provides flexibility when rounding corners.

Isabel Wingate, Fairchild’s Dictionary of Textiles (6th ed. 1979).

In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 560458 dated March 6, 1998, Customs held that for purposes of subheading 9802.00.90, HTSUS, cotton bias tape used in the production of baseball-style hats is considered a finding or trimming. We noted in that ruling that Customs has held that reinforcing tape is a finding or trimming for purposes of subheading 9802.00.90, HTSUS, because it is analogous to zipper tape (see HRLs 559552 dated February 14, 1996, and 560398 dated July 29, 1997). Additionally, Customs held in HRL 562139 dated November 27, 2001, that black reinforcing tape sewn to the inside of a dress around the neck qualifies as a finding or trimming under section 211 of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA).

Consistent with the above-cited rulings, we find that the crimson poplin bias tape used in the waistband of the pants subject to this case qualifies as a finding or trimming. Therefore, assuming that the value of the foreign bias tape does not exceed 25 percent of the cost of the components of the assembled pants, the articles produced as described above would qualify for duty-free and quota-free treatment under subheading 9819.11.09, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

Based on the information submitted, the poplin bias tape used in the waistband of men’s cotton twill pants subject to this ruling qualifies as a finding or trimming. Provided the value of the foreign bias tape does not exceed 25 percent of the cost of the components of the assembled pants, and the pants are wholly assembled in Mauritius from fabric wholly formed in one or more designated beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries from yarn originating in the U.S. or one or more designated beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries, the pants will be eligible for preferential treatment under subheading 9819.11.09, HTSUS. Articles entered under this subheading are subject to the quantitative limitations set forth in U.S. Note 2, subchapter XIX, Chapter 98, HTSUS. This conclusion assumes compliance with all other requirements for preferential treatment set forth in the applicable Interim Regulations implementing the AGOA.

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods are 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,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division


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