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HQ 958680



May 28, 1996
CLA-2 RR:TC:TE 958680 SK

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

Brenda A. Jacobs
Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy
1001 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Sixth floor
Washington, D.C. 20004

RE: Country of origin determinations; men's woven shirt; Section 102.21, Customs Regulations.

Dear Ms. Jacobs:

This is in response to your inquiry of November 22, 1995, requesting a country of origin determination for a men's woven shirt pursuant to Section 102.21, Customs Regulations. In your submission, you describe six different manufacturing scenarios used to produce the subject merchandise. Samples of the garment's constituent pieces and subassemblies were submitted to this office for examination.

FACTS:

The subject merchandise consists of a men's woven dress shirt, classifiable under either subheading 6205.20.20 or 6205.30.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), depending upon the fiber content of the garment. The shirt features long sleeves and a full front button closure. You have presented this office with six different manufacturing scenarios by which the subject merchandise will be produced. They are described as follows:

SCENARIO 1
COUNTRY "A" OPERATIONS

1) Fabric imported from a third source;

2) All cutting operations;

3) Collar subassembly;

4) Patch pocket hem sewn, pocket ironed and attached to left shirt front;

5) Front plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

6) Sleeve plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

7) Label sewn to yoke;

8) Yoke attached to back panel;

9) Cuffs subassembled buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

10) Yoke joined to left and right front panels.

COUNTRY "B" OPERATIONS

1) Left and right sleeves attached to the shirt;

2) Left and right side seams sewn;

3) Cuffs attached;

4) Collar attached and button/button hole sewn;

5) Inspected, ironed, packed and shipped.

SCENARIO 2
COUNTRY "A" OPERATIONS

1) Fabric imported from a third source;

2) All cutting operations;

3) Collar subassembly;

4) Patch pocket hem sewn, pocket ironed and attached to left shirt front;

5) Front plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

6) Sleeve plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

7) Label sewn to yoke;

8) Yoke attached to back panel;

9) Cuffs subassembled buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

10) Yoke joined to left and right front panels;

11) Left and right sleeves attached to the shirt.

COUNTRY "B" OPERATIONS

1) Left and right side seams sewn;

2) Cuffs attached;

3) Collar attached and button/button hole sewn;

4) Inspected, ironed, packed and shipped.

SCENARIO 3
COUNTRY "A" OPERATIONS

1) Fabric imported from a third source;

2) All cutting operations;

3) Collar subassembly;

4) Patch pocket hem sewn, pocket ironed and attached to left shirt front;

5) Front plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

6) Sleeve plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

7) Label sewn to yoke;

8) Yoke attached to back panel;

9) Cuffs subassembled buttons attached/ button holes sewn.

COUNTRY "B" OPERATIONS

1) Yoke joined to left and right front panels;

2) Left and right sleeves attached to the shirt;

3) Left and right side seams sewn;

4) Cuffs attached;

5) Collar attached and button/button hole sewn.

SECOND COUNTRY "A" OPERATIONS

1) Inspected, ironed, packed and shipped.

SCENARIO 4
COUNTRY "A" OPERATIONS

1) Fabric imported from a third source;

2) All cutting operations;

3) Collar subassembly;

4) Patch pocket hem sewn, pocket ironed and attached to left shirt front;

5) Front plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

6) Sleeve plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

7) Label sewn to yoke;

8) Yoke attached to back panel;

9) Cuffs subassembled buttons attached/ button holes sewn.

COUNTRY "B" OPERATIONS

1) Yoke joined to left and right front panels;

2) Left and right sleeves attached to the shirt;

3) Left and right side seams sewn;

4) Cuffs attached;

5) Collar attached and button/button hole sewn;

SECOND COUNTRY "A" OPERATIONS

1) Washed, inspected, ironed, packed and shipped.

SCENARIO 5
COUNTRY "A" OPERATIONS

1) Fabric imported from a third source;

2) All cutting operations;

3) Collar subassembly;

4) Patch pocket hem sewn, pocket ironed and attached to left shirt front;

5) Front plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

6) Sleeve plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

7) Label sewn to yoke;

8) Yoke attached to back panel;

9) Cuffs subassembled buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

10) Yoke joined to left and right front panels.

COUNTRY "B" OPERATIONS

1) Left and right sleeves attached to the shirt;

2) Left and right side seams sewn;

3) Cuffs attached;

4) Collar attached and button/button hole sewn;

SECOND COUNTRY "A" OPERATIONS

1) Washed, inspected, ironed, packed and shipped.

SCENARIO 6
COUNTRY "A" OPERATIONS

1) Fabric imported from a third source;

2) All cutting operations;

3) Collar subassembly;

4) Patch pocket hem sewn, pocket ironed and attached to left shirt front;

5) Front plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

6) Sleeve plackets subassembled, attached and buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

7) Label sewn to yoke;

8) Yoke attached to back panel;

9) Cuffs subassembled buttons attached/ button holes sewn;

10) Yoke joined to left and right front panels;

11) Left and right sleeves attached to the shirt.

COUNTRY "B" OPERATIONS

1) Left and right side seams sewn;

2) Cuffs attached;

3) Collar attached and button/button hole sewn.

SECOND COUNTRY "A" OPERATIONS

1) Washed, inspected, ironed, packed and shipped.

ISSUE:

What is the country of origin for the men's woven shirt in each of the manufacturing scenarios presented?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, new rules of origin will be effective for textile or apparel products entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after July 1, 1996. These rules were published in the Federal Register, 60 Fed. Reg. 46188 (September 5, 1995). Section 102.21, Customs

Regulations (19 CFR Section 102.21), sets forth the general rules which determine country of origin. The country of origin of a textile or apparel product will be determined by a hierarchy of rules set forth in paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(5) of Section 102.21.

Section 102.21(c)(1) sets forth the general rule for determining the country of origin of a textile or apparel product in which the good is wholly obtained or produced in a single country, territory, or insular possession.

Section 102.21(c)(2) provides for instances where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under Section 102.21(c)(1). Section 102.21 (c)(2) provides:

"[W]here 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."

Section 102.21(c)(3) governs instances where country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined pursuant to paragraphs (c)(1) or (c)(2) and where the subject merchandise consists of either a good that was knit to shape in a single country or, except for goods of certain specifically enumerated headings, if the good was not knit to shape and was wholly assembled in a single country.

Section 102.21, paragraph (6), defines "wholly assembled" as follows:

"[T]he term wholly assembled' when used with reference to a good means that all components, of which there must be at least two, preexisted in essentially the same condition as found in the finished good and were combined to form the finished good in a single country, territory, or insular possession. Minor attachments and minor embellishments (for example, appliques, beads, spangles, embroidery, buttons) not appreciably affecting the identity of the good, and minor subassemblies (for example, collars, cuffs, plackets, pockets), will not affect the status of a good as wholly assembled' in a single country, territory, or insular possession."

Section 102.21(c)(4) provides:

"[W]here the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1), (2) or (3) of this section, the country of origin of the good is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which the most important assembly or manufacturing process occurred."

In the manufacturing scenarios set forth above, Section 102.21(c)(1) does not provide the relevant country of origin analysis because the subject merchandise is not wholly obtained or produced in a single country.

As stated supra, the men's woven shirt at issue is classifiable either under subheading 6205.20.20 or 6205.30.20, HTSUSA, depending upon the fiber content of the garment. Accordingly, Section 102.21(c)(2) directs us to paragraph (e) of this section which states, in pertinent part, that origin is conferred in the following situations:

6201-6208 (1) If the good consists of two or more component parts, a change to an assembled good of 6201 through 6208 from unassembled components, provided that the change is the result of the good being wholly assembled in a single country, territory, or insular possession.

The subject garment, in all six manufacturing scenarios described above, undergoes assembly in more than one country. Accordingly, Section 102.21(c)(2) is inapplicable and our hierarchical application of Section 102.21(c) continues.

Section 102.21(c)(3) does not provide the relevant country of origin analysis inasmuch as the subject garments are not knit to shape goods and, as stated above, they did not undergo assembly in a single country, territory, or insular possession.

The relevant analysis, in the case of all six manufacturing scenarios described above, is provided by Section 102.21(c)(4) which looks to the country, territory, or insular possession in which the most important assembly or manufacturing process occurred as conferring origin. In manufacturing scenarios 1, 2 , 5 and 6, the most important assembly takes place in Country A as it is in this country that the majority of the garment is assembled to completion, discounting any minor subassemblies (as defined in Section 102.21, paragraph (6)) and finishing operations.

In the case of scenarios 3 and 4, the most important assembly takes place in Country B as it is in this country that the majority of the garment is assembled to completion, discounting any minor subassemblies (as defined in Section 102.21, paragraph (6)) and finishing operations.

HOLDING:

The country of origin of the men's woven shirt in scenarios 1, 2, 5 and 6 is Country A as per Section 102.21(c)(4).

The country of origin of the men's woven shirt in scenarios 3 and 4 is Country B as per Section 102.21(c)(4).

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 CFR 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect.

Should it be subsequently determined that the information furnished is not complete and does not comply with 19 CFR 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 Customs, it is recommended that a new ruling request be submitted in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification Appeals

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