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HQ 964866




May 31, 2002

CLA-2 RR:CR:TE 964866 SS

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6110.20.2065

Mr. John Preis, Senior Analyst
Footstar, Inc.
933 MacArthur Blvd.
Mahwah, NJ 07430

RE: Classification of a Men’s Knit Pullover; Subheading 6110.20.2065, HTSUSA; U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act; Garments Cut and Sewn in a CBTPA Beneficiary Country from U.S. Fabric; Subheading 9820.11.18, HTSUSA; Not Subheading 9820.11.12, HTSUSA

Dear Mr. Preis:

This is in response to your letter dated December 18, 2000, requesting a binding ruling on the eligibility of a men’s knit garment for duty-free treatment under the United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA). You submitted one sample for our examination.

FACTS:

The submitted sample, Style JFO5005, is a men’s pullover garment that is constructed from 100 percent cotton, finely knit, jersey fabric. Style JFO5005 is sleeveless and has a rib knit crew neckline, hemmed armholes, and a hemmed bottom.

You indicate that Style JFO5005 will be manufactured from fabric that is made in the United States and is cut and sewn in a Caribbean Basin country. However, the specific Caribbean Basin country involved is not identified. Furthermore, you have not indicated the country where the yarn was formed nor the country where the sewing thread was formed.

ISSUE:

Whether the garment is eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the CBTPA?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Style JFO5005 is classifiable as a men’s knit pullover of cotton, under subheading 6110.20.2065, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). The lack of sleeves precludes classification of this garment as a T-shirt of heading 6109, HTSUSA. See New York Ruling Letter (NY) 864546, dated July 11, 1991. The column one duty rate is 17.3 percent ad valorem and the textile category code is 338. However, the garment may be eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the CBTPA.

Title II of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, (Pub. L. 106-200, 114 Stat. 251), concerns trade benefits for the Caribbean Basin and is referred to as the United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA). Section 211 of the CBTPA amended section 213 (b) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) (19 U.S.C. 2703(b)) to provide expanded trade benefits during a “transition period” to designated countries in the Caribbean Basin.

Section 211 of the CBTPA, among other things, eliminates tariffs and quantitative restrictions on specific textile and apparel articles. “Transition period” is defined in 19 U.S.C. 2703(b)(5)(D) as meaning, with respect to a designated CBTPA country, the period that begins on October 1, 2000, and ends on the earlier of September 30, 2008, or the date on which a free trade agreement enters into force with respect to the U.S. and the CBTPA country.

Presidential Proclamation 7351, dated October 2, 2000, published in the Federal Register on October 4, 2000 (65 Fed. Reg. 59329), implemented the CBTPA by designating the eligible CBTPA countries and amending Chapter 98, HTSUS (including the creation of new subchapter XX) to facilitate the entry of the specific textile and apparel articles eligible for preferential treatment under the CBTPA.

The enhanced trade benefits provided by the CBTPA are available to eligible articles imported directly from a country (1) that is designated as a CBTPA beneficiary country and (2) which the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has determined has implemented and follows, or is making substantial progress toward implementing and following certain customs procedures that allow U.S. Customs to verify the origin of the articles. For the purposes of this ruling, we will assume that the “Caribbean Basin country” you refer to has been designated as a CBTPA beneficiary country eligible for textile benefits.

For a list of CBTPA beneficiary countries designated as eligible for textile benefits see U.S. Note 1, Subchapter XX, Chapter 98, HTSUSA.

You specifically ask whether Style JFO5005 will qualify for classification under subheading 9820.11.12, HTSUSA. Subheading 9820.11.12, HTSUSA, provides for:

Articles imported from a designated beneficiary Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership country enumerated in general note 17(a) to the tariff schedule: T-shirts, other than underwear, classifiable in subheadings 6109.10.00 and 6109.90.10 of the tariff schedule, made in one or more such countries from fabric formed in one or more such countries from yarns wholly formed in the United States, subject to the provisions of U.S. note 2(c) to this subchapter

The subheading provides for certain T-shirts made from fabric formed in a CBTPA beneficiary country. Since Style JFO5005 is not classified as a T-shirt of heading 6109, HTSUSA, and is made from fabric formed in the US, it does not qualify for classification under subheading 9820.11.12, HTSUSA.

However, there is another provision which may be applicable. Subheading 9820.11.18, HTSUSA, provides for:

Articles imported from a designated beneficiary Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership country enumerated in general note 17(a) to the tariff schedule: Knitted or crocheted apparel articles (except T-shirts, other than underwear, classifiable in subheadings 6109.10.00 and 6109.90.10 and described in subheadings 9820.11.12) cut and assembled in one or more such countries from fabrics wholly formed in the United States from yarns wholly formed in the United States (including fabrics not formed from yarns, if such fabrics are classifiable in heading 5602 or 5603 of the tariff schedule and are formed wholly in the United States), if such assembly is with thread formed in the United States.

The subheading specifically provides for knit garments cut and assembled in a CBTPA beneficiary country from fabric wholly formed in the United States. We note that subheading 9820.11.06, HTSUSA, similarly provides for apparel articles cut and sewn in a CBTPA beneficiary country from fabric wholly formed in the United States. However, subheading 9820.11.18, HTSUSA, specifically provides for knitted or crocheted apparel articles. Thus, knit garments are more properly classified under subheading 9820.11.18, HTSUSA. As indicated previously, you have failed to provide information on the country where the yarn was formed and the country where the sewing thread was formed. The imported article may be eligible for preferential treatment under subheading 9820.11.18, HTSUSA, if all the requirements of the subheading are satisfied.

HOLDING:

Style JFO5005 is classified under subheading 6110.20.2065, HTSUSA, as a men’s knit pullover of cotton. The general column one rate of duty is 17.3% ad valorem and the textile category code is 338.

Style JFO5005 is not classifiable under subheading 9820.11.12, HTSUSA.

Style JFO5005 may be eligible for duty free treatment under subheading 9820.11.18, HTSUSA, provided all the requirements of the subheading are satisfied.

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is 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

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