HQ 555102: Applicability of partial duty exemption under TSUS item 807.00, as well as visa, quota and country of origin marking requirements, to certain sweat shirts imported from Jamaica.

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 555102

                                   November 23, 1988

            CLA-2  CO:R:C:V  555102 GRV

            CATEGORY:  CLASSIFICATION

            TARIFF NO:  9802.00.80; 807.00

            Ms. Sharon Morgenstern
            The Porcelain Horse
            13065 New Providence Road
            Alpharetta, Georgia  30201

            RE:  Applicability of partial duty exemption under TSUS item
                 807.00, as well as visa, quota and country of origin
                 marking requirements, to certain sweat shirts imported
                 from Jamaica.

            Dear Ms. Morgenstern:

               This ruling letter is in reply to your undated letter--
            received in this office on August 11, 1988--concerning:

               (1) the applicability of item 807.00, Tariff Schedules
                   of the United States (TSUS), to certain sweat shirts
                   to be exported to Jamaica for applique operations;
               (2) the country of origin marking requirements applicable
                   to the returned sweat shirts; and
               (3) whether the sweat shirts are subject to quota
                   and visa restrictions.

            Samples of both the pre-appliqued (for export to Jamaica) and
            the post-appliqued (for import into the U.S.) sweat shirts were
            submitted for examination.

            FACTS:

               Each of the submitted samples consists of a basic white
            sweat shirt, presumably of U.S. origin, and three distinguish-
            able pieces of cloth material of varying size and shape, also
            presumably of U.S. origin, affixed to the sweat shirts. On the
            pre-appliqued shirt, the three attachments are provisionally
            attached to the white sweat shirt by a glue-like substance,
            presumably to fix their proper ornamental location until the
            applique-process comtemplated in Jamaica more permanently fixes
            them to the sweat shirts.  On the post-appliqued shirt, the
            three attachments are more securely attached to the white sweat
            shirt by a sewing operation.

            ISSUES:

            I.  Whether the applique operation, as presently contemplated,










            constitutes an "assembly," thereby entitling the sweat shirts































































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            to partial duty exemption under TSUS item 807.00 (subheading
            9802.00.80, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
            (HTSUS)) when returned to the U.S.

            II. Whether the returned sweat shirts must be marked for coun-
            try of origin purposes as a product of Jamaica.

            III.  Whether the textile articles (sweat shirts) are subject
            to quota/visa restrictions upon their importation into the U.S.

            LAW & ANALYSIS:

            I.  "ASSEMBLY ABROAD"

               TSUS item 807.00 (19 U.S.C. 1202) provides a partial duty
            exemption for articles:

               ... assembled abroad in whole or in part of fabricated
               components, the product of the United States, which
               (a) were exported in condition ready for assembly with-
               out further fabrication, (b) have not lost their physi-
               cal identity in such articles by change in form, shape,
               or otherwise, and (c) have not been advanced in value
               or improved in condition abroad except by being assem-
               bled and except by operations incidental to the assembly
               process such as cleaning, lubricating, and painting.

            Under this tariff provision, there is a duty upon the full val-
            ue of the imported assembled article less the cost or value of
            such U.S. components, provided the documentation requirements
            of section 10.24, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.24), are met.

               Of importance to the sample sweatshirts submitted is the
            term "assembled."  Section 10.16(a), Customs Regulations (19
            CFR 10.16(a)), provides that:

               The assembly operations performed abroad may consist
               of any method used to join or fit together solid
               components, such as welding, soldering, riveting,
               force fitting, gluing, laminating, sewing, or the
               use of fasteners....  (Emphasis added).

               Court decisions construing the term "assembly" have uniform-
            ly held that the term "assembly," for purposes of TSUS item
            807.00, involves the joining or coming together of solids. See,
            for example, Sigma Instruments, Inc. v. United States, 565 F.
            Supp. 1036, 5 CIT 90 (1983), aff'd 724 F.2d 930, (Fed. Cir.
            1983).  Implicit in this construction of the term "assembly" is
            that the solid components are physically separate or apart
            prior to their subsequent joining or coming together.











                                         - 3 -


               The problem presented by the pre-appliqued sweat shirt sam-
            ple is that the three attachments to be appliqued in Jamaica
            are already effectively joined to the sweat shirt by a glue-
            like substance.  Therefore, it is clear that the applique
            operation performed abroad does not consist of the joining or
            fitting together of separate components and compels a determin-
            ation that the post-appliqued sweat shirts would not be enti-
            tled to classification in TSUS item 807.00.  However, it ap-
            pears that if the three attachments are exported in a physi-
            cally separate state from the sweat shirts, (i.e., the three
            attachments are in no way effectively joined to the sweat
            shirts at the time of exportation and are subsequently attached
            to the sweat shirts abroad by sewing), then the imported sweat
            shirts would be entitled to classification in TSUS item 807.00.

            II. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING REQUIREMENTS

               With respect to the issue of country of origin marking re-
            quirements, the sweat shirts constitute textile articles and,
            as such, are subject to section 204 of the Agricultural Act of
            1956, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1854), and section 12.130(c), Cus-
            toms Regulations (19 CFR 12.130(c)). The latter section pro-
            vides that, pursuant to headnote 2, part 1, Schedule 8, TSUS:

               ...any product of the U.S. which is returned after having
               been advanced in value or improved in condition abroad,
               or assembled abroad, shall be a foreign article for
               the purposes of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

               As the applique process in this case will advance the sweat
            shirts in value, the country of origin of the returned sweat
            shirts will be considered to be Jamaica. Therefore, the shirts
            must be marked accordingly. We should note that section 10.22,
            Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.22), provides that, for country
            of origin marking purposes, if an imported assembled article is
            made entirely of American-made materials and is entitled to
            entry under TSUS item 807.00, the article may be marked by
            using a legend such as "Assembled in ----- from material of
            U.S. origin," or a similar phrase.

            III.  QUOTA/VISA RESTRICTIONS

               The returned sweat shirts, processed in Jamaica in the
            manner described in your letter, will be subject to all
            applicable visa and quota requirements as products of Jamaica.

               However, please be advised that pursuant to the 807(a)
            "Special Access Program," textile products assembled in
            participating Caribbean Basin beneficiary countries (including
            Jamaica) from fabric formed and cut in the U.S. are assured











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            access to the U.S. market under guaranteed access levels
            separate from quotas applicable to textile products not
            assembled solely from U.S. formed and cut fabric. To qualify
            for 807(a) treatment, assembled textile products must satisfy
            all requirements for classification in TSUS item 807.00. A copy
            of Customs Directive No. 3500-12, which details the procedures
            to be followed under this Special Access Program, is enclosed
            for your information.

            HOLDING:

               The applique operation in Jamaica, as presently contemplat-
            ed, does not qualify the returned textile articles for the par-
            tial duty exemption in TSUS item 807.00, because the articles
            are already effectively "assembled" prior to their exportation
            to Jamaica.  However, if the sweat shirts are modified in ac-
            cordance with this ruling, prior to their export to Jamaica,
            then the sweat shirts will be "assembled," within the meaning
            of the regulation, and qualify, upon their return to the U.S.
            and compliance with the documentary requirements, for partial
            duty exemption under TSUS item 807.00.

               The returned sweat shirts will be considered products of
            Jamaica for country of origin marking purposes and must be
            marked accordingly.  As products of Jamaica, the returned sweat
            shirts will be subject to all applicable visa and quota re-
            quirements.

                                      Sincerely,





                                      John Durant, Director
                                      Commercial Rulings Division

            Enclosure                            























            cc: CLA-2 CO:R:C:V:GRV:MM:FNL 10/6/88