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NY M82023




April 21, 2006

CLA-2-61:RR:NC:TAB:354 M82023

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6109.90.1065, 6212.20.0020

Ms. Sara Gradilla
R. L. Jones Customhouse Brokers, Inc.
P.O. Box 488
San Luis, AZ 85349

RE: The tariff classification and status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), of an underwear camisole and a girdle from Mexico; Article 509

Dear Ms. Gradilla:

In your letter dated March 27, 2006, written on behalf of your client, MECA Manufacturas S.A., you requested a ruling on the status of women’s undergarments from Mexico under the NAFTA.

Style #3314 is a woman’s underwear camisole with an A-line silhouette, made of 87% nylon and 13% elastane knitted fabric. The front of the garment is made up of a two-ply panel with about three inches of raschel lace-like trim sewn to the edge of the v-neckline. Two panels make up the back of the garment with seams located at the center of the back and at the sides. The garment also features one-inch wide shoulder straps and a hemmed bottom. The essential character of this article is imparted by the knitted man-made fabric which comprises its front and back panels.

Style #6315 is a boyleg brief made of 81% nylon and 19% elastane knitted fabric with a knit cotton gusset and raschel lace-like trim sewn at the leg openings. Two panels make up the rear and sides of the garment, with a rear center seam joining them together. In addition, two front panels made of two-ply fabric that resists the horizontal stretch and shape the stomach area. The garment provides sufficient body support to qualify as a panty girdle. The essential character of this article is imparted by the knitted man-made fabric which comprises its front and back panels.

You have indicated that both undergarments will be cut, sewn, and assembled in Mexico “from originating NAFTA fabric.” Only the raschel lace-like trim sewn to the edge of the v-neck camisole and at the leg openings of the panty girdle will be non-originating. The U.S.-originating fabric that makes up the body of both garments will be shipped in rolls from the U.S. to Mexico where it will be cut and assembled with the non-originating raschel lace-like trim into finished camisoles and girdles.

With regard to style #44005, a women’s camisole with bra, Section 177.7 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177.7) provides that rulings will not be issued in certain circumstances. Specifically, 177.7(b) reads, in pertinent part:

No ruling letter will be issued with respect to any issue which is pending before the United States Court of International Trade, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or any court of appeal therefrom.

Beginning June, 2005, the issue of the classification of an upper body garment with a bra has been filed with the United States Court of International Trade by several different importers. Thus, the issuance of a classification ruling for this article would be inconsistent with 19 C.F.R. 177.7(b).

The applicable tariff provision for style #3314 will be 6109.90.1065, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for T-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments, knitted or crocheted, of other textile materials, of man-made fibers, women’s or girls’, tank tops and singlets, women’s. The general rate of duty will be 32% ad valorem.

The applicable tariff provision for style #6315 will be 6212.20.0020, HTSUS, which provides for brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders, garters and similar articles and parts thereof, whether or not knitted or crocheted, girdles and panty-girdles, of man-made fibers. The general rate of duty will be 20% ad valorem.

Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.

General Note 12(b), HTSUS, sets forth the criteria for determining whether a good is originating under the NAFTA. General Note 12(b), HTSUS, (19 U.S.C. § 1202) states, in pertinent part, that

For the purposes of this note, goods imported into the customs territory of the United States are eligible for the tariff treatment and quantitative limitations set forth in the tariff schedule as "goods originating in the territory of a NAFTA party" only if--

(i) they are goods wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States; or

(ii) they have been transformed in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States so that--

(A) except as provided in subdivision (f) of this note, each of the non-originating materials used in the production of such goods undergoes a change in tariff classification described in subdivisions (r), (s) and (t) of this note or the rules set forth therein, or

(B) the goods otherwise satisfy the applicable requirements of subdivisions (r), (s) and (t) where no change in tariff classification is required, and the goods satisfy all other requirements of this note; or

(iii) they are goods produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States exclusively from originating materials; or

(iv) they are produced entirely in the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States but one or more of the nonoriginating materials falling under provisions for "parts" and used in the production of such goods does not undergo a change in tariff classification because--

(A) the goods were imported into the territory of Canada, Mexico and/or the United States in unassembled or disassembled form but were classified as assembled goods pursuant to general rule of interpretation 2(a), or

(B) the tariff headings for such goods provide for and specifically describe both the goods themselves and their parts and is not further divided into subheadings, or the subheadings for such goods provide for and specifically describe both the goods themselves and their parts,
provided that such goods do not fall under chapters 61 through 63, inclusive, of the tariff schedule, and provided further that the regional value content of such goods, determined in accordance with subdivision (c) of this note, is not less than 60 percent where the transaction value method is used, or is not less than 50 percent where the net cost method is used, and such goods satisfy all other applicable provisions of this note.

Based on the facts provided, the goods described above qualify for NAFTA preferential treatment because they will meet the requirements of HTSUS General Note 12(b)(iii). As stated previously, the essential character of styles #3314 and #6315 is imparted by the knitted man-made fabric which comprises the main body of each garment. These two garments are made in the NAFTA territories using NAFTA originating materials for those portions of the garments which determine the tariff classification of the good, thereby satisfying the requirements of HTSUS General Note 12(b)(iii) and General Note 12(t) Chapter 61 rule 2. The goods will therefore be entitled to a free rate of duty under the NAFTA upon compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and agreements.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 181).

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. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Deborah Marinucci at 646-733-3054.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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