HQ 958798: Country of origin determination for a quilt; Section 102.21,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 958798
                          April 29, 1996
CLA-2 RR:TC:TE 958798 SK

CATEGORY: Classification

Steven S. Weiser
Amy J. Johannesen
Siegel, Mandell & Davidson, P.C.
One Astor Plaza
1515 Broadway, 43rd Floor
New York, N.Y. 10036-8901

RE:  Country of origin determination for a quilt; Section 102.21,
Customs        Regulations.

Dear Messrs.:

     This is in response to your inquiry of December 28, 1995,
requesting a country of origin determination for a patchwork
quilt on behalf of your client, American Pacific Enterprises,
Inc., pursuant to Section 102.21, Customs Regulations.  A sample
of the finished quilt, along with samples of its constituent
parts, was submitted to this office accompanied by your cover
letter dated February 2, 1996.

FACTS:

     The merchandise at issue consists of hand-sewn quilts which
are comprised of   machine-stitched patchwork top panels ("top"),
bottom panels ("back") and batting made of 100 percent polyester
nonwoven fiberfill.  The top and bottom panels are made of either
100 percent cotton or a cotton blend woven fabric.  The quilts
are manufactured in sizes twin, queen and king, as well as in
sizes for babies.  Depending on the quilt size, the back will
consist of one to three pieces.

     In Country "A," the fabrics used to produce the top and back
panels are woven and printed or dyed.  The fabric for the tops is
cut into smaller pieces which are then 


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stitched together by means of machine sewing to form individual
top panels of patchwork.  The fabric for the backs is placed on
rolls and is not cut in Country "A."

     In Country "B," the nonwoven fiberfill batting is wholly
manufactured.  It is also in Country "B" that the back panels are
cut to length and, in the case of back panels to be used in the
larger size quilts, two or three pieces of fabric are placed side
by side and attached by a single, straight machine stitch.  The
quilts are then assembled to completion by hand.  Three sides of
the quilts are machine stitched closed.  The batting is cut to
fit the quilt and the top and back panels are then turned inside
out, encompassing the batting, and the open fourth seam is hand
stitched closed.  A template is used to trace the quilt design
onto the top of the quilt body by means of a stylus.  The quilt
is then hand-sewn along the traced quilting pattern demarcation. 
This forms the raised design and the compartments of batting. 
The quilts are then cleaned, inspected and packaged for shipping. 

     The total number of man-hours attributable to the Country
"A" operations equal approximately 250 minutes.  The total number
of man-hours attributable to the Country "B" operations equal
approximately 820 minutes.  

ISSUE:

      What is the country of origin of the subject merchandise?
     
LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, new rules of
origin will be effective for textile products entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after July 1,
1996.  These rules were published in the Federal Register, 60
Fed. Reg. 46188 (September 5, 1995).  Section 102.21, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR Section 102.21), sets forth the general rules
which determine country of origin.  The country of origin of a
textile product will be determined by a hierarchy of rules set
forth in paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(5) of Section 102.21.  

     Section 102.21(c)(1) sets forth the general rule for
determining the country of origin of a textile product in which
the good is wholly obtained or produced in a single country,
territory, or insular possession.  

     Section 102.21(c)(2) provides for instances where the
country of origin of a textile product cannot be determined under
Section 102.21(c)(1).  Section 102.21 (c)(2) provides:

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          "[W]here the country of origin of a textile or apparel
product 
          cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1) of this
section, 
          the country of origin of the good is the single
country, territory,
          or insular possession in which each foreign material
incorporated 
          in that good underwent an applicable change in tariff
classification,
          and/or met any other requirement, specified for the
good in 
          paragraph (e) of this section."

     Section 102.21(c)(3) governs instances where country of
origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined
pursuant to paragraphs (c)(1) or (c)(2) and where the subject
merchandise consists of either a good that was knit to shape in a
single country or, except for goods of certain specifically
enumerated headings, if the good was not knit to shape and was
wholly assembled in a single country.

     Section 102.21(c)(4) provides:

          "[W]here the country of origin of a textile or apparel
product
          cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1), (2) or (3)
of 
          this section, the country of origin of the good is the
single
          country, territory, or insular possession in which the
most
          important assembly or manufacturing process occurred."

     In the instant case, Section 102.21(c)(1) does not provide
the relevant country of origin analysis because the subject
merchandise is not wholly obtained or produced in a single
country.

     Section 102.21(c)(2) is also inapplicable.  The subject
merchandise is a quilt, classifiable under subheading 9404.90,
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA).   Accordingly, we are directed to paragraph (e) of this
section which states:

          "[T]he country of origin of a good classifiable under
subheading
          9404.90 is the country, territory, or insular
possession in which 
          the fabric comprising the good was formed by a fabric-making 
          process."

The subject quilt is comprised of two types of fabric formed in
two countries: the woven fabric components formed in Country "A,"
and the nonwoven batting fabric wholly produced in Country "B." 
As such, there is no single country in which the 


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fabric was formed for the subject merchandise and our
hierarchical application of Section 102.21(c) continues.

     Section 102.21(c)(3) does not provide the relevant country
of origin analysis inasmuch as the subject quilt is not a knit to
shape good and, as an article classifiable  under subheading
9404.90, HTSUSA, it is specifically exempted from paragraph
(c)(3)(ii)'s application.

     The relevant analysis in the instant case is provided by
Section 102.21(c)(4), cited supra, which looks to the country,
territory, or insular possession in which the most important
assembly or manufacturing process occurred as conferring origin.
This office is in receipt of a "king size" sample quilt.  The
quilt's patchwork panel, earlier referred to as the "top" panel,
consists of a myriad of 924 patch pieces which were manufactured
in Country "A."  The sheer volume of component pieces from fabric
manufactured in Country "A," along with the visual impact created
by these patch pieces and the motivating impetus to purchase that
they create, indicates that the most important manufacturing
process occurs in Country "A."  

HOLDING:

     The country of origin of the patchwork quilt is Country "A."

     This ruling is issued pursuant to the provisions of Part 177
Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 177).  If the specific factual
situation is not as described above, this ruling may not be
valid.  In such an event, it is recommended that a new ruling
request be submitted setting forth the accurate facts.


                                   Sincerely,



                                   John Durant, Director
                                   Tariff Classification Appeals
Division