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HQ 966388




July 3, 2003

CLA-2 RR:TC:TE 966388 TMF

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6104.51.0000

Bernadette Placido
Supervisor
Customs Compliance
QVC, Inc.
1200 Wilson Drive
West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380-4262

RE: Country of Origin of a Six Panel, Knitted Wool Skirt; Customs Regulations 102.21(c)(2); Headquarters Ruling Letter 965962, dated January 8, 2003

Dear Ms. Placido:

This is in response to your letter of March 17, 2003, in which your company requested a binding ruling and country of origin determination of a ladies’ knitted wool skirt under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (hereinafter referred to as “HTSUSA”). Your request along with a sample of the skirt and skirt components was submitted to our office.

FACTS:

The subject skirt is made of six panels and a waistband. The six panels and waistband are knitted of wool yarn in Hong Kong. The panels are linked, washed, ironed, labeled and packed in China. Each of the six panels has:

A self start bottom
“Full fashion” marks along the length of the panel, indicating shaping A top with an extra row of stitches, and purple yarn that likely is used in the knitting machine to indicate the end of the panel.

The waistband has one finished edge, finished sides, and a top of a different color to distinguish the top panel from the other panels. An examination of the finished skirt shows that the bottom and sides were not trimmed after attachment. The top appears to only have been trimmed to the extent of removal of the excess purple yarns.

ISSUE: What is the classification and country of origin of the subject six panel, knitted wool skirt?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Section 334 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (codified at 19 U.S.C. 3592), enacted on December 8, 1994, provided rules of origin for textiles and apparel entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on and after July 1, 1996. Section 102.21, Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 102.21), published September 5, 1995, in the Federal Register, implements Section 334 (60 Fed. Reg. 46188). Section 334 of the URAA was amended by section 405 of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, enacted on May 18, 2000, and accordingly, section 102.21 was amended (68 Fed. Reg. 8711). Thus, 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.

Paragraph (c)(1) states:

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.

You have stated that the subject article is a six panel wool skirt that is knitted in Hong Kong with the linking, washing, ironing, labeling and packing performed in China. In this instance, the skirt is not “wholly obtained or produced as provided in Section 102.21(c)(1) as it is not wholly obtained or produced in a single country. Therefore, we must consider paragraph (c)(2), which states:

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 foreign material 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) states: "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."

We have determined that the subject skirt is classifiable in subheading 6104.51.0000, HTSUSA, which provides for “Women’s or girls’ suits, ensembles, suit-type jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts, divided skirts, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts (other than swimwear), knitted or crocheted: Skirts and divided skirts: Of wool or fine animal hair.” Paragraph (e), Section 102.21 in pertinent part, states:

HTSUS Tariff shift and/or other requirements

(1) If the good is not knit to shape and consists of two or more component parts, except for goods of subheading 6117.10 provided for in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, a change to an assembled good of heading 6101 through 6117 from unassembled components, provided that the change is the result of the good being wholly assembled in a single country, territory or insular possession.

In order to ascertain the applicability of section 102.21 (c)(2), we must resolve the issue of whether the subject skirt is "knit to shape" as provided by the tariff shift rule of paragraph (e). The term "knit to shape" is defined in section 102.21 (b)(3) as:

Any good of which 50 percent or more of the exterior surface area is formed by major parts [emphasis added] that have been knitted or crocheted directly to the shape used in the good, with no consideration being given to patch pockets, appliques, or the like. Minor cutting, trimming or sewing of those major parts will not affect the determination of whether the good is "knit to shape. See 19 C.F.R. 102.21 (b)(3).

The term “major parts” is defined as “integral components of a good but does not include collars, cuffs, waistbands, plackets, pockets, linings, paddings, trim, accessories, or similar parts.” See Section 102.21(b)(4), Customs Regulations.

The subject article is made of a waistband and six panels that are knitted, linked and looped to form a completed skirt. The waistband is not considered a major part. To determine whether the skirt is knit to shape, it is necessary to determine if it contains any “major parts”. However, the issue is whether 50 percent or more of the skirt’s surface area is formed by major parts for purposes of determining whether the subject article is knit to shape. Id. Customs has addressed the issue of major parts. In HQ 965962 dated January 8, 2003, Customs made a determination as to whether a knit rayon/nylon, woman’s tank-top style upper body garment, made of ten vertical components that formed the front and back of the garment was knit to shape. In HQ 965962, Customs determined that the ten vertical strips of knit fabric were not "integral components" and, therefore, not "major parts" as intended by Customs Regulations. In making this determination, Customs did not suggest a number of knit components that would qualify as integral components, but relied on its understanding of the knit to shape garment trade as reflected in the Customs Service Informed Compliance Publication What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About: Knit to Shape Apparel Products (Jan. 1999), which states "integral components" are understood to be garment panels, generally front, back and sleeve panels that make up a principal part of the garment and the garment that they will become a part of is readily recognizable from an examination of the component.

Id.; referring to Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing at 58-59, 86-87 and 114-15, which states that panels are “integral components” because they are recognizable as significant or principal parts in the manufacture of the garment.

In this instance, the subject skirt is composed of six panels, which are called “gores,” which are defined as:

Skirt section, wider at hem than top, providing fullness and shaping to waist without using darts. A four-gore skirt has seams at sides, center front and center back; a six-gore skirt has side-front and side-back seams as well as side seams. There may be as many as twenty-four gores in a skirt. See Fairchild’s Dictionary of Fashion (Second ed., revised 1998) by Charlotte Mankey Calasibetta, at 255.

Although the subject skirt contains gores, it is Customs belief that the gores are similar to the vertical strips of knit fabric of HQ 965962. Both are used to create garments by making up the principal part of the garment, and neither the instant gores nor the vertical strips of HQ 965962 are considered by CBP to be “integral components” or “major parts” as intended by the Customs Regulations. Further, in both cases, we find the amount of linking and looping Note: in this instance, we find the linking and looping to join the instant gores of the subject skirt is analogous to “sewing” of 19 C.F.R. 102.21(a)(3), which is a process of “unit[ing] or fasten[ing] by stitches (see the definition of the term “sew” as found in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Tenth Edition 1999), 1073). of the instant gores and the sewing of the vertical strips of HQ 965962 is not minor, but extensive which results in major assembly. See 19 C.F.R. 102.21 (b)(3), which states, in pertinent part: “Minor sewing of those major parts will not affect the determination of whether a good is knit to shape.”

Therefore, it is our opinion that if the linking and looping of the gores was only minor, the components to be assembled would reasonably resemble the finished garment. However, even upon our examination of the individual gores, without major assembly, we do not find them to be “integral components” as they are not “readily recognizable as significant or principal parts in the manufacture of the garment.” See HQ 965962 supra. Thus, we do not find the subject skirt is “knit to shape” as provided by section 102.21(b)(3) since its exterior surface is not formed by major parts as contemplated by 19 C.F.R. 102.21(b)(4); see also HQ 965962, supra.

Therefore, CBP, relying on 102.21(c)(2), concludes that the conferred country of origin is China. China is the single country in which the foreign material formed in Hong Kong and incorporated into the good underwent a change in tariff classification and met the requirements of paragraph (e). The subject wool skirt is not a “knit to shape” garment and consists of two or more components. The garment, at the time of importation into the United States, is an assembled good of heading 6110, HTSUS, as the result of the assembly of unassembled components, and was wholly assembled in a single country, China.

HOLDING:

The subject six panel wool skirt is classifiable in subheading 6104.51.0000, HTSUSA, which provides for “Women’s or girls’ suits, ensembles, suit-type jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts, divided skirts, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts (other than swimwear), knitted or crocheted: Skirts and divided skirts: Of wool or fine animal hair.” The applicable visa category number is 442 with a duty rate of 15.1 percent ad valorem. The conferred country of origin is China.

The designated textile and apparel category may be subdivided into parts. If so, the 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 you check, close to the time of shipment, the Textile Status Report for Absolute Quotas, previously available on the Customs Electronic Bulletin Board (CEBB) which can be found on the CBP website at www.cbp.gov.

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 CBP office prior to importation of this merchandise to determine the current status of any import restraints or requirements.

The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise identified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in section 19 C.F.R. 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). Should it be subsequently determined that the information furnished is not complete and does not comply with 19 C.F.R. 177.9(b)(1), the ruling will be subject to modification or revocation. In the event there is a change in the facts previously furnished, this may affect the determination of country of origin. Accordingly, if there is any change in the facts submitted to CBP, it is recommended that a new ruling request be submitted in accordance with 19 C.F.R. 177.2.

A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported.

Sincerely,

Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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