N347759

N347759 May 7, 2025 OT:RR:NC:N2:349 CATEGORY: Origin Mr. Harry Yao Down Home LLC 402 Maxwell Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646 RE: Country of origin determination for Duvet set; 19 CFR 102.21(c)(5)); last country where an important assembly or manufacturing process occurred Dear Mr. Yao: This is in reply to your letter dated April 11, 2025, requesting a country of origin determination for a duvet cover set, which will be imported into the United States. FACTS: The subject merchandise, described as a Duvet Set, VSDVFQ/91240585/HW, consists of a duvet cover and two pillow shams. You state the duvet cover and shams both have a face of 70 percent rayon and 30 percent linen dyed woven fabric. The back of the duvet cover and shams is a 100 percent cotton dyed woven fabric. The front and back panels of each piece are sewn together with a strip of face fabric with raw edges inserted into the seam. This strip of fabric extends from the seam and, through laundering, a decorative frayed edge is created. Both the shams and duvet cover include an opening on the back with a zipper closure. The duvet cover and shams are imported in Full/Queen and King sizes. The manufacturing operations for the duvet cover and shams are as follows: China: Face fabric for duvet cover and shams is woven, dyed and exported to Vietnam. Vietnam: Back fabric for duvet cover and shams is woven and dyed. Face and back fabrics are cut. Duvet cover and shams are sewn and assembled into the finished duvet cover and sham. Finished duvet covers and shams are packed and shipped to the United States. ISSUE: What is the country of origin of the subject merchandise? COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - LAW AND ANALYSIS: At the outset, we consider the duvet cover and shams a set under the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). The Explanatory Notes, which constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States at the international level, state in Note (X) to Rule 3 (b) that the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" means goods which: (a) consist of at least two different articles which are prima facie, classifiable in different headings; (b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. The duvet cover and pillow shams meet the qualifications of "goods put up in sets for retail sale." The components of the set consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings. The duvet cover is classifiable under subheading 6302.32, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), and the pillow shams are classifiable under subheading 6304.99, HTSUS. They are put up together to furnish a bed and they are packaged for sale directly to users without repacking. Section 334 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (“URAA”) (codified at 19 U.S.C. 3592), enacted on December 8, 1994, provides the rules of origin for textiles and apparel products for purposes of the customs laws and the administration of quantitative restrictions, unless otherwise provided by the statute, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after July 1, 1996. Section 3592 has been described as Congress’s expression of substantial transformation as it relates to textile and apparel products. Section 102.21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR 102.21), implements the URAA. Subject to paragraph (d) of this section, the country of origin of a textile or apparel product shall be determined by the sequential application of the general rules set forth in paragraphs (c)(1) through (5) of section 102.21. See 19 CFR 102.21(c). Section 102.21(d) states, “Where a good classifiable in the HTSUS as a set includes one or more components that are textile or apparel products and a single country of origin for all of the components of the set cannot be determined under paragraph (c) of this section, the country of origin of each component of the set that is a textile or apparel product will be determined separately under paragraph (c) of this section.” Paragraph (c)(1) states, “The country of origin of a textile or apparel product is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which the good was wholly obtained or produced.” As the subject merchandise is not wholly obtained or produced in a single country, territory or insular possession, paragraph (c)(1) of Section 102.21 is inapplicable. Paragraph (c)(2) states, “Where 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 of the foreign materials 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:” Paragraph (e) in pertinent part states, The following rules shall apply for purposes of determining the country of origin of a textile or apparel product under paragraph (c)(2) of this section: HTSUS Tariff shift and/or other requirements 6301 – 6306 Except for goods of heading 6302 through 6304 provided for in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, the country of origin of a good classifiable under heading 6301 through 6306 is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the fabric comprising the good was formed by a fabric-making process. The “fabric-making process” is defined in 102.21(b)(2) as follows: A fabric-making process is any manufacturing operation that begins with polymers, fibers, filaments (including strips), yarns, twine, cordage, rope, or fabric strips and results in a textile fabric. As the duvet cover is comprised of fabric from two different countries, Section 102.21(c)(2) is inapplicable. Subheading 6304.99, HTSUS, is included in the (e)(2) exception to the above tariff rule; therefore, Section 102.21(e)(2) must be considered for the pillow shams. Section 102.21(e)(2), in pertinent part, states: (2) For goods of HTSUS headings 6213 and 6214 and HTSUS subheadings 6117.10, 6302.22, 6302.29, 6302.53, 6302.59, 6302.93, 6302.99, 6303.92, 6303.99, 6304.19, 6304.93, 6304.99, 9404.90.85 and 9404.90.95, except for goods classified under those headings or subheadings as of cotton or of wool or consisting of fiber blends containing 16 percent or more by weight of cotton: (i) The country of origin of the good is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the fabric comprising the good was both dyed and printed when accompanied by two or more of the following finishing operations: bleaching, shrinking, fulling, napping, decating, permanent stiffening, weighting, permanent embossing, or moireing; (ii) If the country of origin cannot be determined under paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section...the country of origin is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the fabric comprising the good was formed by a fabric-making process; As the fabrics comprising the sham are not both dyed and printed, Section 102.21(e)(2)(i) is inapplicable. As the fabrics comprising the sham are formed in more than one country, Section 102.21(e)(2)(ii) is also inapplicable. Paragraph (c)(3) states, “Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined under paragraph (c) (1) or (2) of this section: (i) If the good was knit to shape, the country of origin of the good is the single country, territory, or insular possession in which the good was knit; or (ii) Except for fabrics of chapter 59 and goods of headings 5609, 5807, 5811, 6213, 6214, 6301 through 6306, and 6308, and subheadings 6307.10, 6307.90, 9404.90, and 9619.00.31-33 if the good was not knit to shape and the good was wholly assembled in a single country, territory, or insular possession, the country of origin of the good is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the good was

At the outset, we consider the duvet cover and shams a set under the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). The Explanatory Notes, which constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States at the international level, state in Note (X) to Rule 3 (b) that the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" means goods which: (a) consist of at least two different articles which are prima facie, classifiable in different headings; (b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. The duvet cover and pillow shams meet the qualifications of "goods put up in sets for retail sale." The components of the set consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings. The duvet cover is classifiable under subheading 6302.32, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), and the pillow shams are classifiable under subheading 6304.99, HTSUS. They are put up together to furnish a bed and they are packaged for sale directly to users without repacking. Section 334 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (“URAA”) (codified at 19 U.S.C. 3592), enacted on December 8, 1994, provides the rules of origin for textiles and apparel products for purposes of the customs laws and the administration of quantitative restrictions, unless otherwise provided by the statute, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after July 1, 1996. Section 3592 has been described as Congress’s expression of substantial transformation as it relates to textile and apparel products. Section 102.21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR 102.21), implements the URAA. Subject to paragraph (d) of this section, the country of origin of a textile or apparel product shall be determined by the sequential application of the general rules set forth in paragraphs (c)(1) throu