HQ 554929: Applicability of partial duty exemption of item 807.00, TSUS, to children's headwear

Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.

                                      HQ 554929

                                  November 3, 1988

          CLA-2  CO:R:C:V  554929  DBI

          CATEGORY:  Classification

          TARIFF NO.: 9802.00.80; 807.00

          Edwin C. Bullock, Esq.
          Kuhn and Miller
          1412 Broadway
          New York, New York  10018

          RE:   Applicability of partial duty exemption of item 807.00,
                TSUS, to children's headwear

          Dear Mr. Bullock:

                This is in response to your letter dated February 17, 1988,
          in which you request a ruling concerning the applicability of
          item 807.00, Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS), to
          children's headwear that will be imported by your client from the
          Dominican Republic.

          FACTS:

                You advise that component parts of children's headwear will
          be produced in the U.S. out of textile material imported from the
          Far East.  In its imported condition the textiles will be in the
          form of greige goods.  After importation, the greige goods will
          be subjected to the following six processes:

                1.  Singeing - running them over an open flame at high
                speed and then directly into water to remove surface hair,
                which prevents pilling.

                2.  Desizing - soaking them in an enzyme bath, which eats
                away the sizing materials which were used in the weaving
                process.

                3.  Scouring - cleaning them in a mixture of hot water and
                caustic agents.

                4.  Bleaching - bleaching them with a peroxide bleach to
                remove motes and achieve whiteness.


















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                5.  Finishing - stabilizing them with a crease resistant
                finish which decreases susceptibility to wrinkling and also
                provides shrinkage control.

                6.  Cutting - cutting them into the size and shape of
                headwear parts.

          After these operations are completed, the cut pieces will be
          shipped to the Dominican Republic to be assembled.

                You have noted that this request concerns the qualification
          of the cut pieces as products of the U.S. prior to exportation to
          the Dominican Republic, and does not concern whether the
          operations performed abroad constitute acceptable assembly
          operations under item 807.00, TSUS.

          ISSUE:

                Whether the described headwear components exported to the
          Dominican Republic for assembly into children's headwear qualify
          as products of the U.S. for purposes of item 807.00, TSUS
          (9802.00.80, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
          (HTSUS)).

          LAW AND ANALYSIS:

                Item 807.00, TSUS, applies to articles assembled abroad in
          whole or in part of fabricated components, the products of the
          U.S., with no operations performed thereon except the attachment
          of the components to form the imported merchandise and operations
          incidental thereto.  An article classified under item 807.00,
          TSUS, is subject to duty upon the full appraised value of the
          imported article, less the cost or value of such products of the
          U.S.

                Section 10.14(b) of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR
          10.14(b)), provides that foreign-made articles or materials may
          become products of the U.S. for purposes of item 807.00, TSUS, if
          they undergo a process of manufacture in the U.S. which results
          in their substantial transformation.  According to this
          provision, a substantial transformation occurs when, as a result
          of manufacturing processes, a new and different article emerges,
          having a distinctive name, character, or use which is different
          from that originally possessed by the article or material.  
















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                We have previously held that the cutting of garment parts
          from fabric will result in a substantial transformation of the
          fabric.  T.D. 85-38, 19 Cust. Bull. 58 (1985).

                In the present case, it is our opinion that the cutting to
          size and shape alone is sufficient to result in a substantial
          transformation of the imported fabric into a U.S. product.  The
          greige goods have been transformed into goods that have a
          specific pattern and, therefore, are only suitable to be used in
          the assembly of children's headwear.  Clearly this is a different
          article having a distinctive use which is different from that
          originally possessed by the material.

          HOLDING:

                On the basis of the information submitted, it is our
          opinion that the described processing of the imported foreign-
          made fabric in the U.S. substantially transforms the fabric into
          fabricated components, the product of the U.S., within the
          meaning of item 807.00, TSUS.

                                     Sincerely,





                                     John Durant
                                     Director, Commercial
                                     Rulings Division