HQ 083054: Brassieres with machine knit openwork designs are notconsidered of lace.

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 083054

                                March 13, 1990




CLA-2 CO:R:C:G  083054  HP

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:  6212.10.2010; 6212.10.2020

Mr. Thomas G. Travis
Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
RIVERGATE PLAZA
444 BRICKELL AVENUE
MIAMI, FLORIDA 33131-2470

RE:  Brassieres with machine knit openwork designs are not
considered of lace.

Dear Mr. Travis:

     This is in reply to your letter of September 6, 1988,
concerning the tariff
classification of brassieres, produced of U.S. components in
either Mexico, the
Dominican Republic, or the Philippines, under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the
United States Annotated (HTSUSA).  Please reference your client
Playtex Apparel,
Inc. - your reference 12800.

     Pursuant to section 177.2(b)(7), Customs Regulations (19 C.F
.R. 177.2(b)(7)),
your request, under section 552(b)(4) of the Freedom of
Information Act (5 U.S.C.
 552(b)(4)) for confidentiality of all information in the raw
material specification
sheets included with your ruling request, is granted.

     The issue of potential duty reduction under heading 9802,
HTSUSA, is not
being addressed.
FACTS:

     The merchandise at issue consists of seven styles of
brassieres with
openwork designs, subdivided into three groups according to
description in the
Table below.


             Group A
       Styles 655, 685,
       740, and 767, their
       common feature
       being all include a
       criss-cross design
       formed by a mac
       hine knit openwork
       edging which ex
       tends from the
       lower front center
       of the garment to
       the top edges of
       the cups.  Con
       structed of man-
       made fibers; lycra,
       spandex or elastic.
                                    Group B
       Styles 702 and 707,
       support garments,
       their common fea
       ture being the top
       sections of the
       cups, the center of
       the garments, and
       the edging is
       machine knit
       openwork.  The
       center panel on
       Style 707 is a sep
       arate component.
       Constructed of
       man-made fibers;
       lycra, spandex or
       elastic.

       Group C
       Style 5089, in
       which the cups are
       framed by a 1"
       machine knit open
       work band that
       completes the cups,
       and a criss-cross
       design formed by a
       machine knit open
       work edging.  Con
       structed of a blend
       of cotton and man-
       made fibers - chief


 ISSUE:

     Whether the machine knit openwork portion of the brassieres
  is considered
 lace under the HTSUSA?

 LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Subheading 6212.10.10, HTSUSA, provides for, inter alia,
 brassieres containing
 lace.  If the machine knit openwork portions of the instant
 merchandise are
 considered lace, this subheading would be applicable.

     The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the HTSUSA constitute the
 official interpreta
 tion of the tariff at the international level.  The EN to
 heading 5804 excludes from
 classification as lace "openwork products of any kind produced
 by knitting by
 hand or machine (Chapter 60)...."  If the machine knit openwork
  portions of the
 brassieres cannot be considered lace under heading 5804, the
 brassieres cannot
 contain lace under heading 6212.  See HRL 086013 of February 2,
  1990 (where
 construction of article fails to meet description of net
 fabrics under heading 5804,
 article cannot be classified in heading 5608).
 HOLDING:

     As a result of the foregoing, the instant merchandise is
 classified ...

 Style 5089

     ... under subheading 6212.10.2010, HTSUSA, textile category
  349, as
 brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders, garters and
 similar articles and
 parts thereof, whether or not knitted or crocheted, brassieres,
  other, of cotton.
 The applicable rate of duty from either Mexico or the
 Philippines is 18 percent ad
 valorem.  Merchandise classified under this subheading,
 imported from the
 Dominican Republic, may, if all applicable requirements are met
 , be subject to a
 Free rate of duty under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery
 Act (CBERA), 19
 U.S.C. 2702.

 All Other Styles

     ... under subheading 6212.10.2020, HTSUSA, textile category
  649, as
 brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders, garters and
 similar articles and
 parts thereof, whether or not knitted or crocheted, brassieres,
  other, of cotton.
 The applicable rate of duty from either Mexico or the
 Philippines is 18 percent ad
 valorem.  Merchandise classified under this subheading,
 imported from the
 Dominican Republic, may, if all applicable requirements are met
 , be subject to a
 Free rate of duty under the CBERA.

     The designated textile and apparel category may be
 subdivided into parts.
 If so, 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 negotiations and changes, to
 obtain the most current
 information available, we suggest that you check, close to the
 time of shipment, the
 Status Report On Current Import Quotas (Restraint Levels), an
 issuance of the U.S.
 Customs Service, which is updated weekly and is available 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 importing the
  merchandise to
 determine the current status of any import restraints or
 requirements.


                                  Sincerely,


                             John Durant, Director
                          Commercial Rulings Division