HQ 957472: Country of origin of down comforters; Section 12.130,Customs Regulations

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 957472

                          April 25, 1995

CLA-2  R:C:T 957472 CAB

CATEGORY:  Classification

James C. England
James C. England & Associates
6 Deer Drive (Route 3)
Lexington, VA 24450

RE:  Country of origin of down comforters; Section 12.130,
Customs Regulations

Dear Mr. England:

     This is in response to your inquiry of January 31, 1995,
concerning the country of origin of down comforters.  A sample
was not provided to Customs for examination.

FACTS:

     You are requesting a country of origin determination for a
finished goose or duck down comforter under two distinct
manufacturing scenarios.  In the first scenario, the
manufacturing process is as follows:  Goose or duck down that has
been washed and sterilized in China will be transported to Macao;
Comforter shells cut and sewn in China will also be transported
to Macao; The comforter shells and down will be assembled in
Macao;  Finally, the finished down comforter will be exported to
the United States.   In the second scenario, the manufacturing
process is as follows:  Imported cotton piece goods will be cut
and sewn into comforter shells in Macao.  These comforter shells
will be filled with washed and sterilized goose or duck down from
China in Macao.  The finished down comforters will be exported to
the United States.  

ISSUE:

     What is the country of origin for the subject down
comforter?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:
          
     Country of origin determinations for textile products are
subject to Section 12.130, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 12.130). 
Section 12.130 provides that a textile product that is processed
in more than one country or territory shall be a product of that
country or territory where it last underwent a substantial
transformation.  A textile product will be considered to have
undergone a substantial transformation if it has been transformed
by means of substantial manufacturing or processing operations
into a new and different article of commerce.

     Section 12.130(d), Customs Regulations, sets forth criteria
for determining whether a substantial transformation of a textile
product has taken place.  This regulation states these criteria
are not exhaustive; one or any combination of criteria may be
determinative, and additional factors may be considered.

     Section 12.130(d)(1), Customs Regulations, states that a new
and different article of commerce will usually result from a
manufacturing or processing operation if there is a change in:

     (i)  Commercial designation or identity, (ii)  Fundamental
character or (iii) Commercial use.

     Section 12.130(d)(2), Customs Regulations, states that for
determining whether merchandise has been subjected to substantial
manufacturing or processing operations, the following will be
considered:

(i)       The physical change in the material or article;

(ii)      The time involved in the manufacturing or processing        operation;

(iii)     The complexity of the manufacturing or processing           operations;

(iv)      The level or degree of skill and/or technology required
          in the manufacturing or processing operations; and     

(v)       The value added to the article or material.  

     Section 12.130(e)(1), Customs Regulations, describes
manufacturing or processing operations from which an article will
usually be considered a product of the country in which those
operations occurred.  

     Section 12.130(e)(1)(iv), Customs Regulations, states that a
textile article will usually be a product of a particular country
if the cutting of the fabric into parts and the assembly of those
parts into the completed article has occurred in that country. 
However, 12.130(e)(2)(ii) states that a material will usually not
be considered to be a product of a particular foreign country by
virtue of merely having undergone cutting to length or width and
hemming or overlocking fabrics which are readily identifiable as
being intended for a particular commercial use.  



     In the first scenario, washed and sterilized goose or duck
down from China will be exported to Macao.  Comforter/quilt
shells that have been cut and sewn in China will also be exported
to Macao.  In Macao, both the comforter/quilt shells and the
goose or duck down will be combined to result in finished down
comforters.  

     As the comforter/quilt shell is exported to Macao already
cut into parts and assembled, in accordance with Section
12.130(e)(1)(iv), it has undergone a substantial transformation
in China.  The issue Customs must address is whether the
processing in Macao results in a substantial transformation.  The
value added to the comforter shell in Macao is significant and
the increased value is due in most part to insertion of the down
into the shell.  The average cost of down is usually costlier
than a comforter shell.  There is also a requisite degree of
skill involved in filling a comforter shell with down.  In order
for down to properly impart warmth throughout the entire
comforter, the comforter must undergo processing in Macao which
involves additional stitching or baffles to prevent the down from
shifting to any single area of the article.  Finally, the down
and the comforter shell lose their separate identity and become a
new and different article of commerce after they are combined in
Macao.  Therefore, in accordance with Section 12.130(d), in the
first scenario, the subject article undergoes its last
substantial transformation in Macao, the country where the down
is inserted into the comforter shell.

     In the second scenario, piece goods will be imported into
Macao.  In Macao, the piece goods will be cut and sewn into a
comforter shell.  These shells will be filled in Macao with
washed and sterilized goose or duck down from China.  In this
case, the piece good undergo a substantial transformation in
Macao in accordance with Section 12.130(e)(1)(iv), as it is
Macao, where the piece goods are cut and sewn into a finished
comforter shell.  Also, as stated above, the insertion of down
into a comforter shell results in a substantial transformation in
the country where the combining occurred, Macao. 

HOLDING:

     In both scenarios, the country of origin of the down
comforter at issue is Macao.

     This ruling is issued pursuant to the provisions of Part 177
Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 177).  The holding in this
ruling only applies to the specific factual situation presented
and the merchandise identified in the ruling request.  If the 




information furnished is not accurate or complete, or there is a
change in the factual situation, this ruling will no longer be
valid.  In such an event, a new ruling request should be
admitted.

                                   Sincerely,



                                   John Durant, Director
                                   Commercial Rulings Division