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HQ 966013




March 5, 2003

CLA-2 RR:CR:TE 966013 ttd

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

TARIFF NO.: 6302; 9404

Mr. Charles V. Bremer
Vice President, International Trade
American Textile Manufacturers Institute
1130 Connecticut Ave., NW
Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20036-3954

RE: Classification and Country of Origin Determination for Bed Sheets, Pillowcases and Comforters

Dear Mr. Bremer:

This letter is in reply to your correspondence dated October 28, 2002, in which you request a ruling regarding a classification and country of origin determination for bed sheets, pillowcases and comforters. A sample was not submitted with your request.

FACTS:

In your letter, you stated that the goods would be imported under the following circumstances:

Greige fabric is woven in the United States and sent to a foreign country where it is dyed or printed and finished, cut and assembled into bed sheets, pillowcases and comforters imported under HTS subheadings 6302.21, 6302.22, 6302.31, 6302.32 (bed sheets and pillowcases) and 9404.90 (comforters).

In telephone conversations with a member of my staff on January 28 and 29, 2003, you explained that the bed sheets consisted of a flat sheet and a fitted sheet, and that both sheets would be packaged and sold together as a set with two pillowcases. You also indicated that the bed sheet set would be imported, packaged and sold independently or with the comforter as a whole bed set (bed in a bag). You stated that the fiber content for each article under consideration will contain 16 percent or more by weight of cotton and that the comforters would not be imported alone.

We presume for the purposes of this ruling that the batting material for the subject comforter is not a fabric.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

I. Classification

Classification of merchandise under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI), taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.

Based on the information provided, the comforter is classifiable under heading 9404, HTSUSA, which provides for “Mattress supports; articles of bedding and similar furnishing (for example, mattresses, quilts, eiderdowns, cushions, pouffes and pillows) fitted with springs or stuffed or internally fitted with any material or of cellular rubber or plastics, whether or not covered.” The bed sheets and pillowcases are classifiable under heading 6302, HTSUSA, which provides for “Bed linen, table linen, toilet linen and kitchen linen.”

As the bed sheets and pillowcases are classified in heading 6302 and the comforter is classified in heading 9404, classification of the subject comforter set cannot be determined by applying GRI 1. Accordingly, the remaining GRI must be applied. GRI 3 provides for goods that are, prima facie, classifiable in two or more headings. GRI 3(a) provides, in part, that “when two or more headings each refer . . . to part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the goods.” GRI 3(b) provides that goods put up for retail sale shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component that gives them their essential character. According to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes, the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level, “goods put up in sets for retail sale” refers to goods which:
consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings . . .;
consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and
are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. . . .

The subject comforter set meets the qualifications of “goods put up in sets for retail sale.” The components of the set consist of different articles that are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings. They are put up together to carry out the specific activity of furnishing a bed and they are packaged for sale directly to users without repacking. Customs has consistently found that the comforter is the component that gives a comforter set its essential character. See e.g., Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 959813, dated April 10, 1998. Accordingly, the comforter set is classifiable under heading 9404, HTSUSA.

II. Country of Origin

On December 8, 1994, the President signed into law the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. Section 334 of that Act (codified at 19 U.S.C. 3592) provides new rules of origin for textiles and apparel entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on and after July 1, 1996. On September 5, 1995, Customs published Section 102.21, Customs Regulations, in the Federal Register, implementing Section 334 (60 FR 46188). Thus, effective July 1, 1996, the country of origin of a textile or apparel product shall be determined by sequential application of the general rules set forth in paragraphs (c)(1) through (5) of Section 102.21. Section 334 has since been amended by the issuance of Section 405 within Title IV of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 (68 FR 37) and the implementing regulations, 19 CFR 102.21, have been amended accordingly (See 68 FR 8711).

Additionally, Section 102.21(d) addresses the treatment of sets for country of origin purposes. Section 102.21(d) provides the following:

Where a good classifiable in the HTSUS as a set includes one or more components that are textile or apparel products and a single country of origin for all of the components of the set cannot be determined under paragraph (c) of this section, the country of origin of each component of the set that is a textile or apparel product shall be determined separately under paragraph (c) of this section.

Thus, per the terms of Section 102.21(d), the country of origin of each item in the set must be determined separately if there is not a single country of origin for the entire set.

Paragraph (c)(1) states that "The country of origin of a textile or apparel product is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which the good was wholly obtained or produced." As the subject merchandise (bed sheet set) is not wholly obtained or produced in a single country, territory or insular possession, paragraph (c)(1) of Section 102.21 is inapplicable.

Paragraph (c)(2) states that "Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1) of this section, the country of origin of the good is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which each of the foreign materials incorporated in that good underwent an applicable change in tariff classification, and/or met any other requirement, specified for the good in paragraph (e) of this section:"

Paragraph (e)(1), in pertinent part, states that "The following rules will apply for purposes of determining the country of origin of a textile or apparel product under paragraph (c)(2) of this section:”

HTSUS Tariff shift and/or other requirements

6301-6306 Except for goods of heading 6302 through 6304 provided for in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, the country of origin of a good classifiable under heading 6301 through 6306 is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the fabric comprising the good was formed by a fabric-making process.

9404.90 Except for goods of subheading 9404.90 provided for in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, the country of origin of a good classifiable under subheading 9404.90 is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the fabric comprising the good was formed by a fabric-making process.

Regarding the bed sheet set, based on the information you provided in your letter and subsequent telephone conversations, the bed sheets and pillowcases are classifiable under subheadings 6302.21, 6302.22, 6302.31 and 6302.32. Subheadings 6302.21, 6302.31 and 6302.32 are not included in the paragraph (e)(2) exception to the above tariff shift rule. Although subheading 6302.22 is included in the paragraph (e)(2) exception to the above tariff shift rule, goods classified in that heading which consist of fiber blends containing 16 percent or more by weight of cotton are excepted. As the fabric comprising the bed sheets and pillowcases is formed in a single country (the United States), as per the terms of the tariff shift requirement, the country of origin is the United States.

Concerning the comforter set, paragraph (e)(2) includes articles of subheadings 9404.90.85 and 9404.90.95 as exceptions to the above tariff shift rule. While you did not provide enough information to classify the comforter beyond the six-digit subheading level, based on the information you did provide, goods classified in either 9404.90.85 or 9404.90.95 which consist of fiber blends containing 16 percent or more by weight of cotton are excepted. Therefore, presuming the comforter in fact contains 16 percent or more by weight of cotton, the country of origin for the comforter set is the United States. Accordingly, as the fabric comprising the various components of the bed in a bag set are formed in a single country, the United States, pursuant to Section 102.21(c)(2), the country of origin marking for both the bed sheet sets and the comforter sets is the United States.

In your submission, you requested a country of origin determination for quota purposes. Your inquiry raises the issue as to whether the country of origin determination for quota/visa purposes is to be made by application of Section 102.21 or by application of Section 12.130(c). Customs is in the process of drafting a notice for publication in the Federal Register to solicit public comments on this issue. Accordingly, we decline to rule on the quota/visa issue that you raised, until completion of the publication process. Please be advised that you will have an opportunity to provide comments in response to the notice.

Inasmuch as the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 are applicable only to articles of “foreign origin,” the subject comforter sets and bed sheet sets are not required to be marked upon importation into the United States. However, we note that claims of domestic origin is a matter under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Therefore, should you wish to mark the articles with the phrase “Made in the USA,” we recommend that you contact that agency at the following address:

Federal Trade Commission
Division of Enforcement
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580

HOLDING:

Based on the information provided, the country of origin of the bed sheet sets and the comforter sets, for marking purposes, is the United States, pursuant to 19 CFR 102.21(c)(2). As such, the sheet sets and the comforter sets are exempt from the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304.

Sincerely,

Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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