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NY N013962




August 6, 2007

CLA-2-62:RR:NC:TAB:354

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4203.29.3020, 6216.00.5820

Mr. Stephen S. Spraitzar
George R. Tuttle
Three Embarcadero Center, Suite 1160
San Francisco, CA 94111

RE: The tariff classification of gloves from China.

Dear Mr. Spraitzar:

In your letter dated July 6, 2007, written on behalf of your client, 5.11 Tactical Series, Inc., you requested a classification ruling, applicability of subheading 9802.00.80, and marking of men’s gloves.

Style #59314 is a man’s glove constructed of 100% sheepskin leather. The glove has a U.S.-made inner liner that is comprised of knit polyethelene yarns (trademark name Spectra). You state that the glove liner is knit-to-shape in the U.S. from U.S.-made polyethelene yarns. The fabricated liners are then shipped to China, where they are assembled by sewing with the leather outer shell components. You state that the leather material that is used for the outer shell of the glove originates in China, where the leather will also be cut to shape and then assembled with the U.S.-made inner liners to produce the completed gloves.

Style #59315 is a man’s glove with a palm side, from fingertips to wrist, and a complete index finger made of a non-woven synthetic leather material consisting of 60% nylon and 40% pu (polyurethane). This material also overwraps the remaining fingertips and is featured as patches on the backside finger knuckles. The backside is made up of 96% polyester, 4% spandex knit fabric. The backside thumb is made of a cotton terry fabric, and a portion of the lower backside, as well as the cuff, is made of neoprene sandwiched between two finely knitted fabrics. Additional features include coated fabric overlays on the palmside fingers and palm. This glove also features a knit-to-shape inner liner made in the U.S. from U.S.-made polyethelene yarns. The fabricated liners are then shipped to China, where they are assembled by sewing with the outer shell components. You state that the fabric that is used for the outer shell of the glove originates in China, where the fabric will also be cut to shape and then assembled with the U.S.-made inner liners to produce the completed gloves. The essential character of this glove is imparted by the palmside non-woven nylon material.

The applicable subheading for style #59314 will be 4203.29.3020, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for articles of apparel and clothing accessories, of leather or of composition leather: gloves, mittens and mitts: other: other: men’slined. The duty rate will be 14% ad valorem.

The applicable subheading for style #59315 will be 6216.00.5820, HTSUS, which provides for gloves, mittens and mitts: other: of man-made fibers: other: with fourchettesother. The duty rate will be 20.7 cents/kg. plus 10.4% 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/.

Style #59315 falls within textile category 631. With the exception of certain products of China, quota/visa requirements are no longer applicable for merchandise which is the product of World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries. Quota and visa requirements are the result of international agreements that are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes. To obtain the most current information on quota and visa requirements applicable to this merchandise, we suggest you check, close to the time of shipment, the “Textile Status Report for Absolute Quotas” which is available on our web site at www.cbp.gov. For current information regarding possible textile safeguard actions on goods from China and related issues, we refer you to the web site of the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the Department of Commerce at otexa.ita.doc.gov.

You ask whether the gloves are entitled to the partial duty exemption under HTSUS subheading 9802.00.80.

Subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, provides for a partial duty exemption for:

Articles assembled abroad in whole or in part of fabricated components, the product of the United States, which (a) were exported in condition ready for assembly without further fabrication, (b) have not lost their physical identity in such articles by change in form, shape, or otherwise, and (c) have not been advanced in value or improved in condition abroad except by being assembled and except by operations incidental to the assembly process, such as cleaning, lubricating and painting.

All three requirements of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, must be satisfied before a component may receive a duty allowance. An article under this tariff provision is subject to duty upon the full cost or value of the imported assembled article, less the cost or value of the U.S. components assembled therein, upon compliance with the documentary requirements of section 10.24, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.24).

Section 10.14(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.14(a)), states in part that:

The components must be in condition ready for assembly without further fabrication at the time of their exportation from the United States to qualify for the exemption. Components will not lose their entitlement to the exemption by being subjected to operations incidental to the assembly either before, during, or after their assembly with other components.

Section 10.16(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.16(a)), provides that the assembly operation performed abroad may consist of any method used to join or fit together solid components, such as welding, soldering, riveting, force fitting, gluing, lamination, sewing, or the use of fasteners.

Operations incidental to the assembly process are not considered further fabrication operations, as they are of a minor nature and cannot always be provided for in advance of the assembly operations. However, any significant process, operation or treatment whose primary purpose is the fabrication, completion, physical or chemical improvement of a component, precludes the application of the exemption under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, to that component. See 19 CFR 10.14(a).

We are satisfied from the information provided that the U.S. liners meet the requirements of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, and therefore, are entitled to the duty allowance available under this tariff provision. The glove liners are finished components as exported and are in condition ready for assembly when sent to China. The foreign operations that consist of sewing the liners into the gloves is considered an acceptable assembly operation within the meaning of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS.

With the exception of the inner liners, the other glove components that make up the completed gloves would not be eligible for a duty reduction under heading 9802. Only the inner liners may be eligible for a duty allowance under heading 9802 upon their return to the U.S.

You also inquired as to whether the legend “Made in China with U.S. knit liners” is an acceptable country of origin marking for these imported gloves. As the imported gloves are eligible to be imported under 9802.00.80, and the glove liners are made entirely of U.S.-made materials, the U.S. origin may be disclosed by using a legend such as “Made in China with U.S. knit liners.”

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

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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