HQ 957407: Classification of a 100 percent cotton woven and crocheted vest from India; not "India Item", not exempt from quota

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 957407

                         January 20, 1995

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 957407 CMR

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 6211.42.0070

Mr. Marty Langtry
Tower Group International, Inc.
Castelazo & Associates
5420 W. 104th Street
Los Angeles, CAL. 90045-6069

RE: Classification of a 100 percent cotton woven and crocheted
    vest from India; not "India Item", not exempt from quota 

Dear Mr. Langtry:

     This ruling is in response to your letter of November 22,
1994, on behalf of your client, Creative Natural Fabric,
requesting the classification and eligibility as an "India Item"
of a cotton vest from India.  A sample vest, style RP 275,
referred to as a jawahar jacket, was submitted with your request. 
 
FACTS:

          In your letter, you state that the submitted sample, a 100
percent cotton vest, is a traditional Indian garment known as a
jawahar jacket.  The garment has a basic vest design.  It is
sleeveless with a V-neckline and no collar.  The front panels of
the vest are made up of squares, half of which are woven and half
of which are crocheted.  The front panels are lines with woven
fabric and each panels forms a v-point at the bottom.  The front
panels are secured together by a four-button right-over-left
placket closure.  The direction of the closure indicates the
garment is a woman's garment.  The back panel of the vest is
entirely of woven fabric.  Fabric strips, creating a fabric tie, 
are attached at the back to adjust the fit of the garment.

     In your letter you have indicated that 75 percent of the
surface area of the vest is woven and 25 percent is crocheted. 
The value of the woven portion is 60 percent, that of the
crocheted is 40 percent.  The weight of the entire garment is 110
grams and the front panel weighs 40 grams. 

     It is your belief the garment is properly classified as a
women's woven vest of subheading 6211.42.0070, Harmonized Tariff                               -2-


Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA).  Additionally,
you believe the garment qualifies as an "India Item" exempt from
quota.
     
ISSUE:

     Is the submitted sample classified as a women's woven vest
in subheading 6211.42.0070, HTSUSA?

     Does the submitted sample qualify as an "India Item"
described in the United States/India bilateral textile agreement
and thus exempt from quota?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Classification of goods under the HTSUSA is governed by the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs).  GRI 1 provides that
"classification shall be determined according to the terms of the
headings and any relative section or chapter notes and, provided
such headings or notes do not otherwise require, according to
[the remaining GRIs taken in order]."

     As stated in the FACTS portion of this ruling, the direction
of the front closure of the garment indicates it is a woman's
garment.  This is based upon Note 8, Chapter 61 and Note 8,
Chapter 62.  These identical notes state:

     Garments of this chapter designed for left over right
     closure at the front shall be regarded as men's or boys'
     garments, and those designed for right over left closure at
     the front as women's or girls' garments.  These provisions
     do not apply where the cut of the garment clearly indicates
     that it is designed for one or other of the sexes.

     Garments which cannot be identified as either men's or boys'
     or as women's or girls' garments are to be classified in the
     headings covering women's or girls' garments.

As the garment at issue has a right-over-left front closure and
nothing about the cut of the garment indicates it is designed for
a particular gender, the vest is classifiable as a women's vest. 

     The subject vest is made of woven cotton fabric and
crocheted cotton fabric.  Thus, prima facie, the vest is
potentially classifiable as a crocheted vest of Chapter 61 or a
woven vest of Chapter 62.  Classification of garments made up of
both knit and woven fabrics is based upon which component, the
woven or knit, imparts the essential character of the garment. 
This is pursuant to GRI 3.  In order to simplify such
determinations and attempt to achieve a measure of uniformity,
Customs issued Headquarters Memorandum 084118 of April 13, 1989.                                -3-


That memorandum established criteria for determining the
classification of garments consisting of different fabrics, and
provides that in the case of upper body garments, in the absence
of unusual circumstances:

     * * * if one component exceeds 60 percent of the visible
     surface area, that component will determine the
     classification of the garment unless the other component:

          (1) forms the entire front of the garment; 

                       *        *        *

     As you indicate in your letter, 75 percent of the surface
area of the vest consists of woven fabric.  The crocheted fabric
is only part of the front of the garment.  Thus, Customs agrees
with you that the vest is properly classified as a woven vest of
Chapter 62.

     Eligibility for quota exempt status as an "India Item" is
determined by the terms of the United States/India bilateral
textile agreement.  This agreement, at Annex E, describes "India
Items", in part, as:

     * * * traditional folklore handicraft textiles products made
     in the cottage industry.  They comprise clothes, clothing
     accessories and decorative furnishings whose shape and
     design are traditionally and historically Indian.
     [Emphasis added.]

       These products should not include zip fasteners and must
     be ornamented in the characteristic Indian folk styles 
     using one of the following methods:

                        *       *       *

          (b) embroidered or crocheted ornamentation,

                        *        *       *

     [Emphasis added].

     A jawahar jacket is defined in the United States/India
bilateral textile agreement as:

     A loose-fitting coat or vest of waist or hip length with or
     without buttons traditionally worn over kurtas or Kameez by
     men and women.

     Having examined the submitted sample, Customs believes it
fails to meet the description of a jawahar jacket as defined                                -4-


above for two reasons: (1) the fabric tie on the back allows the
garment to be tightened closer to the body so that it is not
truly "loose-fitting", and (2) it fails to meet the requirement
as stated in the bilateral agreement for ornamentation.    

     Crochet is one of the forms of ornamentation specified in
the bilateral agreement.  Although the front panels of the vest
are feature crocheted and woven squares of fabric, these squares
create the front panels; they do not merely ornament them. 
Support for the view that that which creates an article is not
ornamentation can be found in United States case law.

     In Blairmoor Knitwear Corp. v. United States, 60 Cust. Ct.
388, C.D. 3396, 284 F. Supp. 315 (1968), the United States
Customs Court examined the meaning of the term "ornament".  The
court stated therein:

     The word "ornament" has customarily been construed in
     accordance with its dictionary meaning, to embrace that
     which enhances, embellishes, decorates, or adorns.

The court in reaching its decision in Blairmoor discussed the
case of Gimbel Brothers, Inc. v. United States, 27 Cust. Ct. 371,
Abstract 56124, which involved the classification of beaded
handbags.  The court ruled in Gimbel that the handbags at issue
were not ornamented because the beads were a component material
in the manufacture of the bags.  In discussing Gimbel, the court
in Blairmoor stated:

     It was further stated that an article so composed, however
     ornamental in character, would not be considered an
     ornamental article when the component claimed to constitute 
     the ornamentation is a material and necessary portion of the
     article itself, without which there would be no article.

     The vest at issue here is just such an article.  The
crocheted squares on the front panels together with the woven
squares create the panels and without the crocheted squares
connecting the woven squares the front panels would not exist.  

     The subject vest does not qualify as an "India Item" within
the terms of the bilateral agreement as it is not ornamented in a
characteristic Indian folk style as required.  Additionally, as
stated above, the presence of the fabric tie on the back allows
the garment to be fitted, as opposed to "loose-fitting". 

HOLDING:

     The submitted vest is classified in the provision for
women's other garments, of cotton, vests, in subheading
6211.42.0070, HTSUSA.  The garment is dutiable at 8.6 percent ad                                -5-


valorem and falls within textile category 359.  As it fails to
meet the requirements for qualifying as an "India Item" per the
terms of the U.S./India bilateral textile agreement, visas for
category 359 are required for entry.

     The designated textile and apparel category may be
subdivided into parts.  If so, the visa and quota requirements
applicable to the subject merchandise may be affected.  Since
part categories are the result of international bilateral
agreements which are subject to frequent renegotiations and
changes, to obtain the most current information available, we
suggest you check, close to the time of shipment, the Status
Report On Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an internal
issuance of the U.S. Customs Service which is updated weekly and
is available for inspection at your local Customs office.

     Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation
(the ninth and tenth digits of the classification) and the
restraint (quota/visa) categories, you should contact your local
Customs office prior to importation of this merchandise to
determine the current status of any import restraints or
requirements.

                                   Sincerely,



                                   John Durant, Director
                                   Commercial Rulings Division