HQ 555395: Applicability of the provision for assembled articles in Subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, to a shoe-shine mitt made by sewing together a single panel

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 555395

                          July 3, 1989

CLA-2-CO:R:C  555395 RA

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 9802.00.80, HTSUS

Mr. Richard G. Seley
Rudolph Miles & Sons, Inc.
P.O. Box 144
El Paso, Texas 79942

RE: Applicability of the provision for assembled articles in
    Subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, to a shoe-shine mitt made by
    sewing together a single panel

Dear Mr. Seley:

     This is in response to your letter of May 12, 1989,
requesting a ruling on behalf of MFI International, El Paso,
Texas, concerning the tariff treatment of a shoe-shine mitt made
in Mexico by stitching together a single fabric panel of U.S.
origin.

FACTS:

     You state that your client proposes to export a 100 percent
cotton or poly-cotton blend fabric panel which has been printed,
cut to pattern, and stitched at the top in the U.S.  In Mexico,
the fabric would be folded over on itself and two of the open
sides would be stitched closed.  A minor trimming off of one
square edge is done as a sewing convenience and some may have a
tab sewn on one corner.  After sewing, the product is packed for
export to the U.S. where it would be sold to hotels for use by
their guests.

ISSUE:

     Will the assembled article qualify for tariff treatment
under the provisions of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, by virtue
of the panel and thread being joined by sewing?


LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Subheading 9802.00.80, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTSUS), provides for an allowance in duty for the
cost or value of U.S.-made components assembled abroad by the
attachment of the various components to form the imported
merchandise.  The assembly abroad may consist of a joinder of
two or more components and includes operations incidental
thereto.  In view of the recent decision of the Court of
International Trade in L'Eggs Products v. U.S., Slip Op. 89-5
(1989), the joining together of a single piece of fabric by
means of sewing with thread is now considered to be a qualified
assembly.  Minor trimming is permitted as an incidental
operation.  The packaging materials, if of U.S. origin and not
improved in condition or advanced in value, would be free of duty
as American goods returned under subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS.
The duty allowance and free entry would be conditioned upon
compliance with the applicable Customs Regulations in sections
10.11-10.24, and 10.1, (19 CFR 10.11-10.24 and 10.1),
respectively.  The tariff classification of the imported mitt
will be the subject of a separate letter.

HOLDINGS:

     The production of a shoe-shine mitt by sewing together a
single fabric panel of U.S. manufacture, with incidental
trimming, is considered to be a qualified assembly under
subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS.  Packaging materials of U.S. origin
are free of duty under subheading 9801.00.10, HTSUS, if not
improved in condition or advanced in value abroad.

                               Sincerely,



                               John Durant, Director
                               Commercial Rulings Division