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NY C86398




April 22, 1998

MAR-2 RR:NC:TA:352 C86398

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. W. J. Gonzalez
Trans-Union Customs Service, Inc.
11941 S. Prairie Ave.
Hawthorne, CA 90250

RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED TEXTILE STRAPS WITH VELCRO LIKE HOOK AND LOOP FASTENERS WHICH WILL BE FURTHER PROCESSED BY INCORPORATING THEM INTO A KNEE PAD IN THE UNITED STATES. CLASSIFICATION OF THE TEXTILE STRAP FROM CHINA.

Dear Mr. Gonzalez:

This is in response to your letter dated March 10, 1998, on behalf of your client Custom Leathercraft, Inc., requesting a classification ruling and a ruling on whether imported straps are required to be individually marked with the country of origin if it is later to be processed in the U.S. by a U.S. manufacturer. A sample of the strap as imported and a sample of the finished kneepad after the strap is incorporated into it in the United States was submitted with your letter for review.

The submitted strap, designated as style number V235, is approximately 14 inches long and 1.25 inches wide. It is manufactured with a 1.25 inch wide knit tape which has elastomeric yarns added to increase its ability to stretch. Attached to either end of the strap are the male and female portions of hook and loop fastening material which is design to facilitate the closure of the strap around the leg of the person wearing the knee pad into which this strap will be incorporated. After importation, the strap will be threaded through openings cut in a foam plastic kneepad and will function to keep the kneepad in place on the wearer.

The applicable subheading for the strap will be 6307.90.9989, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other made up articles...other, other, other, other, other. The rate of duty will be 7 percent ad valorem.

The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article.

Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), mandates that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. must be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. Section 134.1(d), defines the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. 19 CFR 134.1(d)(1) states that if an imported article will be used in manufacture, the manufacturer may be the ultimate purchaser if he subjects the imported article to a process which results in a substantial transformation of the article. The case of U.S. v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940), provides that an article used in manufacture which results in an article having a name, character or use differing from that of the constituent article will be considered substantially transformed and that the manufacturer or processor will be considered the ultimate purchaser of the constituent materials. In such circumstances, the imported article is excepted from marking and only the outermost container is required to be marked. See, 19 CFR 134.35.

In this case, the imported straps are substantially transformed as a result of the U.S. processing, and therefore the U.S. manufacturer is the ultimate purchaser of the imported straps and under 19 CFR 134.35 only the containers which reach the ultimate purchaser are required to be marked with the country of origin "China".

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 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 Alan Tytelman at 212-466-5896.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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