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HQ 964933

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June 28, 2002

CLA-2 RR:CR:SM 964933 mbg

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6302

Kaiser Siddiqi
1991 Broadway #19A
New York, NY 10023

RE: African Growth and Opportunity Act; bed sheets

Dear Mr. Siddiqi:

This is in response to your letter of January 8, 2001, requesting a binding ruling on the eligibility of cotton bed sheets for preferential treatment under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (“AGOA”).

FACTS:

You have stated that you plan to manufacture 100 percent cotton bed sheet sets in Kenya. Each set would contain one plain bed sheet, one fitted bed sheet and two pillow cases. You have provided that the sheets will be manufactured from dyed or bleached and printed fabric which will be imported from Asia and then cut, stitched and packaged in Kenya.

ISSUE:

Whether the subject cotton bed sheets are eligible for preferential treatment under AGOA?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Title I of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, Pub. L 106-200, 114 Stat. 251, May 18, 2000, referred to as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (“AGOA”), seeks to promote trade opportunities between the U.S. and the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The AGOA provides for the extension of duty-free treatment under the GSP to non-textile articles normally excluded from GSP duty-free treatment that are not import sensitive, and the entry of specific textile and apparel articles free of duty. In order to implement the AGOA, Customs issued Interim Regulations in T.D. 00-67, 65 Fed. Reg. 59668, which became effective October 1, 2000. With regard to the textile and apparel provisions, the law became effective on October 1, 2000, and shall remain in effect through September 30, 2008. See Sec. 112(f), AGOA.

The enhanced trade benefits provided by the AGOA are available to eligible textile and apparel articles imported directly from a country (1) that is designated as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country and (2) which the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) has determined by a proclamation published in the Federal Register has satisfied the requirements of the AGOA and therefore should be afforded the tariff treatment authorized in such Act. Such countries shall be enumerated in U.S. Note 1, Subchapter XIX, Chapter 98, HTSUS, whenever the USTR issues a Federal Register notice as described herein. See Presidential Proclamation 7350, Annex, dated October 2, 2000, 65 Fed. Reg. 59321.

Kenya was designated as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country under AGOA by Presidential Proclamation. The Office of the United States Trade Representative issued a determination finding that Kenya has adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to prevent unlawful transshipment and the use of counterfeit documents in connection with shipments of textile and apparel articles and has implemented and follows, or is making substantial progress toward implementing and following, the customs procedures required by the AGOA.

However, the textile provisions of AGOA are limited to the production of textile and apparel articles. “Apparel articles” are defined as “goods classifiable in Chapters 61 and 62 and headings 6501, 6502, 6503, and 6504 and subheadings 6406.99 and 6505.90 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (“HTSUSA”). See 19 C.F.R 10.212. In addition, AGOA provides for duty free and quota free importation of handloomed fabric, handmade articles of handloomed fabric and folklore articles. See 19 C.F.R. 10.213 (a)(10). For a complete listing of the textile and apparel articles which are eligible for preferential treatment under AGOA please see 19 C.F.R. 10.213. These provisions do not include cotton bed sheets and therefore you will not be able to receive preferential treatment under AGOA for the bed sheet sets.

The Customs Service would like to inform you that the Trade and Development Act of 2000 also provided for the elimination of the existing quotas on textile and apparel imports from Kenya. See 66 Fed. Reg. 17, 7837. However, the country of origin for the bed sheets and pillow cases is determined by the origin of the fabric. In the scenario which you provided you have stated that the fabric will be from Asia and therefore you will not be able to import the bed sheet sets quota free. Based on the information you have provided they would not be considered products of Kenya or of Kenyan origin.

HOLDING:

The subject cotton bed sheets are not eligible for preferential treatment under the AGOA.

The subject bed sheets are properly classified in heading 6302, HTSUSA, which provides for “Bed linen, table linen, toilet linen and kitchen linen.” Classification of the bed sheets at the subheading level depends upon any further processing methods which may be performed.

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.

The designated textile and apparel category may be subdivided into parts. If so, visa and quota requirements applicable to 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 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.

Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation (the ninth and tenth digits of the classification) and the restraint (quota/visa) categories, you should contact your local Customs office prior to importation of this merchandise to determine the current status of any import restraints or requirements.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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