HQ 084012: Tariff Status of a Reversible Vest

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 084012

	JUNE 12. 1989


 CLA2 CO:R:C:G  084012  PR

 CATEGORY:  Classification

 TARIFF NO.:  6211.42.0070

 Ms. Kim Gilivary
 Esprit de Corp
 900 Minnesota Street
 San Francisco, CA. 94107

 RE:  Tariff Status of a Reversible Vest

 Dear Ms. Gilivary:

 	This ruling is in response to your letter of March 1, 1989,  concerning the tariff status of a sample reversible vest  labelled to be a product of Taiwan.

 FACTS:

 	The submitted sample, style 65421, is a woman's lightweight  reversible vest made of woven fabrics.  The entire back consists  of two layers of a single green rayon fabric.  The front quarter  panels on one side are made of a solid rayon blue fabric while  the front quarter panels on the other side are made of a tweed like multicolored cotton fabric.  Each of the tweedlike front  panels have an inserted welt pocket and each side has a five button front closure.  There are buttonholetype openings in the  back which allow a 3centimeter wide adjustable rear belt segment  to be fastened with a metal slide buckle on either side of the  garment.  A 21/2 by 5 centimeter rectangular brand fabric label  is stitched to the green fabric in the center neck area on the  side with the blue front.  Projecting downward from the bottom  center of this label is a 2 centimeter long by 1 centimeter wide  fabric label indicating the country of origin of the garment.

 ISSUE:

 	The issue presented is whether reversible garments with two  outer shells of the same construction are classifiable according  to the relative weights of the fibers in both shell fabrics
 combined, pursuant to Section XI Note 2 and Section XI  Subheading Note 2, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United  States Annotated (HTSUSA), or according to the fabric selected
 in accordance with General Rule of Interpretation 3, HTSUSA.

 LAW AND ANALYSIS:

 	Subheading Note 2, Section XI, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of  the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), provides:

 	(A) Products of chapters 56 to 63 containing two or more
 	textile materials are to be regarded as consisting wholly of
 	that textile material which would be selected under note 2
 	to this section for the classification of a product of
 	chapters 50 to 55 consisting of the same textile materials.

 	(B) For the application of this rule:

 		(a) Where appropriate, only the part which determines
 		the classification under general interpretative rule 3
 		shall be taken into account.

 	Note 2(A), Section XI, to which Subheading Note 2(A)
 refers, provides:

 	(A) Goods classifiable in chapters 50 to 55 or in heading
 	5809 or 5902 and of a mixture of two or more textile
 	materials are to be classified as if consisting wholly of
 	that one textile material which predominates by weight over
 	each other single textile material.

 	General Rule of Interpretation 3, HTSUSA, provides:

 	When * * * goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two or
 	more headings, classification shall be effected as follows:

 	(a)  	The heading which provides the most specific
 		description shall be preferred to headings providing a
 	more general description.  However, when two or more
 		headings each refer to part only of the materials or
 		substances contained in mixed or composite goods
 		* * *  those headings are to be regarded as equally
 		specific in relation to those goods * * * .

 	(b)  	Mixtures [and] composite goods consisting of different
 	materials or made up of different components * * *
 		which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall
 		be classified as if they consisted of the material or
 		component which gives them their essential character,
 		insofar as this criterion is applicable.
 
(c) 	When goods cannot be classified by reference to 3(a) or
 		3(b), they shall be classified under the heading which
 		occurs last in numerical order among those which
 		equally merit consideration.

 	Subheading Note 2(A) is dependent on the application of  Section XI Note 2(A).  The subheading note states that the  classification of textile garments and articles will be governed
 by the textile material selected under the section note.   However, the section note is directed towards the classification  of yarns and fabrics which are a "mixture" of two or more textile
 materials.  According to the Harmonized Commodity Description and  Coding System, Explanatory Notes, at page 705, which are  the official interpretation of the HTSUSA at the international level  (the 4 and 6 digit headings), textile materials may be mixed:

 		prior to or during spinning;

 		during twisting;

 		during weaving.

 	Accordingly,  the mixture of textile materials contemplated  in the section note is not a mixture of two or more separate  fabrics.  Before the subheading note, which is predicated on the
 section note, can be utilized, it must first be determined to  which of the fabrics comprising the article the section note  (and, therefore, the subheading note) applies.

 	The garment in question is made of three fabrics.  If those fabrics were imported together in fabric form, Section XI Note  2(A) would not require that the weights of their components be
 compared and that classification be according to the textile  material which predominates.  Rather, they would be classifiable  as separate fabrics.  Therefore, where separate fabrics are
 combined to form a textile garment or article, GRI 3 is utilized  first to select which fabric will determine classification.

 	The correctness of this reasoning is further evidenced by  section (B) of the subheading note. which, as quoted above,  clearly states that only the part selected by GRI 3 shall
 determine the classification of, among other things, garments.

 	As additional support for the above position, the  Explanatory Notes go on to state, also at page 705, that in the  case of fabrics laminated or stitched together, the section note
 will apply "only where it is necessary to determine the textile  material which predominates by weight in the fabric taken into  consideration for the classification of the product as a whole."
 Thus, where two or more separate fabrics are combined, Section XI  Note 2(A) is not used until a single fabric is selected under GRI  3.  While the above quote is concerned with fabrics, the
 reasoning clearly carries over to a garment which consists of two  or more fabrics that are not even joined to for a single  fabrics.


 		In the instant garment, the differences between the blue and  tweedlike outer surfaces are significant since both have  distinctly different appearances.  The manner in which this  garment will be worn will depend on circumstances and  the  individual tastes of the purchaser.  However, the stylish  appearance of the tweedlike fabric, combined with the unsightly  appearance of the labels on the back portion when the blue fabric  is worn on the outside, convinces us that the garment will be  worn almost exclusively with the blue fabric (and labels) on the  inside.  Thus, the tweedlike cotton fabric imparts the essential  character to the garment.

 HOLDING:

 	The sample reversible vest is classifiable under the  provision for other women's cotton vests, in Subheading  6211.42.0070, HTSUSA, with duty, as a product of Taiwan, at the
 rate of 8.6 percent ad valorem.  Textile and apparel restraint  category 359 is currently applicable. 

 	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 importing the merchandise to determine  the current applicability of any import restraints or  requirements.

                          				Sincerely,

                          				John Durant, Director
                          				Commercial Rulings Division