Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings for July 27

July 28, 2022 |Customs Rulings

The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated July 27 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):

H321354: U.S. Government Procurement; Title III, Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (19 U.S.C. § 2511); Subpart B, Part 177, CBP Regulations; Country of Origin of Surgical Gowns

Ruling: The country of origin of the surgical gowns at issue is the Dominican Republic.

Issue: What is the country of origin of the surgical gowns for purposes of U.S. Government procurement?

Item: Level 3 and Level 4 disposable surgical gowns for use in hospitals, surgical centers, and similar healthcare settings. The gowns are made from nonwoven synthetic spun-melt-spun textile material and plastic film made in the U.S. The textile material forms the exterior of the gown, while the plastic film material is glued to the interior of the gown as reinforcement for the textile material. The textile material is the most expensive material in the finished product, accounting for 30% of the finished gown’s value, and makes up 100% of the gown’s exterior. The textile material and plastic film are transferred in rolls to the Dominican Republic where they are cut into component parts, which are in turn assembled into two sleeve subassemblies and the gown body subassembly. The sleeve subassemblies and body gown subassemblies are then returned to the U.S. for final assembly consisting of principally attaching the sleeve subassemblies to the gown body subassembly and attaching the neck binding to the neck opening of the gown.

Reason: The most important assembly or manufacturing processes of the surgical gowns consist of cutting the SMS textile material to make the main body and sleeve pieces, the assembly of the sleeves, the assembly of the gown body, and the application of the plastic film to the inner face of the gown body. These steps combined create the main pieces of the surgical gown and give the surgical gown its purpose. When the sleeve subassemblies and the surgical gown body are exported to the U.S., they are clearly recognizable as an unfinished surgical gown.

Ruling Date: July 21, 2022