Customs Ruling Shows Complexity of Tariff Classification for Upholstery

On June 27, 2014, U.S. Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") ruled that an upholstery fabric, imported from Italy by Rogers & Goffigon LLC, described as twill weave combed 100% alpaca wool fabric, weighing 431.5 g/m2, had not been demonstrated to meet the CBP criteria for uphostery and was, therefore, properly classified at 5112.19.9530 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States ("HTSUS"), with a rate of duty of 25 percent. Had it been classified, per the importer's desire, as upholstery at 5112.19.2000 HTSUS the rate of duty would have been 7 percent.

Clients of Agathon Associates and subscribers to Agathon Associates' Trade Advisor Service can learn more about CBP's 8-point criteria for upholstery classification at www.agathonassociates.com/textile-pri/upholstery/cbp.htm. You will need to enter your username and password. If you do not know your username and password email David Trumbull at david@agathonassociates.com.

The 21st Century Global Apparel Value Chain and Implications for U.S. Cotton in the World Marketplace

The 2014 University of Rhode Island ("URI") Cotton Summit, "THE 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL APPAREL VALUE CHAIN AND IMPLICATIONS FOR U.S. COTTON IN THE WORLD MARKETPLACE," will take place Monday, September 22, 2014, on the URI campus. Announced speakers are:

• MARIA D'ANDREA, supervisor of Office of Textiles and Apparel ("OTEXA"),U.S. Department of Commerce
• JULIA HUGHES, President, U.S. Fashion Industry Association
• NATE HERMAN, Vice President, American Apparel and Footwear Association
• ERIN ENNIS, Vice President, US-China Business Council
• Dr. KITTY DICKERSON, Consultant & Professor Emerita, University of Missouri
• Dr. STACEY FREDERICK, Research Scientist, Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness at Duke University
• ROBERT ANTOSHAK,Managing Director, Ohal Inc.
• JON DEVINE, Senior Economist, Cotton Incorporated
• DAVID TRUMBULL, Principal, Agathon Associates

For more information, the agenda, or to register, go to http://uricotton2014.wordpress.com/.

The event is FREE and open to the public!

TPP Talks on Textiles and Rules of Origin Held in Ottawa July 3rd through 9th

Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development ("DFATD") has confirmed that Trans-Pacific Partnership ("TPP") chief negotiators met in Ottawa from July 4 to July 12 to discuss labor, state-owned enterprises, services, investment, and all areas of market access, among others. These discussions ran concurrent with a small number of working-level, technical group meetings held with the objective of advancing remaining rules. The working groups that met included:

• Intellectual Property ("IP") from July 6-10,
• Investment from July 6-8,
• Stated Owned Enterprises ("SOEs") from July 9-12 and
• Rules of Origins ("ROO")/Textiles from July 3-9.

Canada held several bilateral meetings to advance our interests across several areas of the negotiations.

Staff Changes at NCTO

The BeaverLake6 Report has confirmed that the National Council of Textile Organizations is closing its Gastonia, N.C. office. There are staff changes at NCTO as well. For the full story click on BeaverLake6.com.

Reps DeLauro, Tonko, and 12 Other Democrats Claim USTR Uses "Cooked Data" to Justify Trade Deals

Yesterday, U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (Dem., Conn.) and Paul Tonko (Dem., N.Y.) led 12 of their colleagues in calling for the Office of the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") to stop using inaccurate data while making their case for future Free Trade Agreements ("FTAs"), including the Trans-Pacific Partnership ("TPP").

The USTR currently relies upon a set of export data from the Census Bureau that fails to reflect the reality that NAFTA as well as recent trade agreements have resulted in a loss of American jobs and negatively affected the U.S. trade balance. This data recognizes "re-exports," or goods that are imported from a foreign country then immediately exported to another, as an authentic American export. For example, a product made in Canada, sent to the U.S., and then shipped to Japan would be counted as a U.S. export.

The distorted trade data artificially inflates U.S. export levels and minimizes the nation’s trade deficit. Labeling these products as exports downplays the harm that recent FTAs have done to the U.S. trade balance, and fails to present an argument to the public and their Representatives in Congress when debating the merits of future FTAs and the impact they will have on domestic jobs and the economy.

Many of the same representatives previously questioned USTR’s claims suggesting that the United States enjoys a trade surplus with its North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA") partners. The only response they received from the USTR’s office came months later and provided no answers.

Clients of Agathon Associates and subscribers to Agathon Associates' Trade Advisor Service may read the House Democrats letter to USTR by CLICKING HERE. You will need to enter your username and password. If you do not know your username and password email David Trumbull at david@agathonassociates.com.

More Catching Up

This week I will again focus on issued patents.  Below is a summary of selected patents that have been recently issued in textile related classification codes:

Protective articles having a plurality of core members:   A protective guard for reducing injury to a shin of a person comprising small rigid plates made of an elastomeric substrate that are and covered with a fabric shell.  Patent:  8661564.  Inventor:  Dodd.  Assignee:  Pinwrest Development Group, LLC.

Sweat management system:  A fabric comprising an inner fabric, outer shell and an intermediate layer.  The inner fabric and outer shell transport sweat from the wearer to the environment.  The intermediate layer is made of a water trapping material capable that captures sweat and keeps it away from the wearer.  Patent:  8661567.  Inventor:  Hoover and Hoover.  Not Assigned.

Hybrid hosiery:  A two piece hosiery system with an unfinished (and adjustable?) waist band that attaches to the legwear.  The idea appears to be to combine the potential comfort of a garter system with the convenience of standard hosiery.  Patent: 8661568.  Inventor:  O’Brien.  Assignee:  Commando, LLC.

Functional underpants for men:  Men’s underwear with customized support features for the “man regions.  Patent:  8661569.  Inventor:  Baek.  Not Assigned.

Helmet edge band:  A flexible woven tubular fabric band that is applied to the edge of a helmet shell. Patent:  8661572.  Inventor:  Rogers.  Assignee:  Artisent, LLC.

Protective cover for medical device having adhesive mechanism:  A protective liner for a neck brace.  Patent:  8661573.  Inventor:  Zinreich, et.al.  Assignee:  Izi Medical Products.

Shoe outsole made using composite material:  Improved method for making a shoe outsole.  Patent: 8661593.  Inventor:  Koo and Goldberg.  Assignee:  Dynasty Footwear Ltd.

Method and apparatus for pliabilizing knitted or woven materials:  An apparatus for stretching tubular materials to make the material thinner comprising a frame, a ring holder, and a mandrel assembly.  Patent:  8661632.  Inventor:  Dey and Looney.  Assignee:  Ethicon, Inc.

Crampon for golf shoes and climbing irons:  A crampon capable of being worn on general footwear for golf shoes and climbing irons is disclosed, in which because of small volume and light load, the crampon has a cheap and conveniently portable advantage. Patent: 8661708.  Inventor:  Park.  Assignee:  Wookyung Tech Co., Ltd.

Shoe assembly with non-linear viscous liquid:  A shoe and shoe sole assembly made of a non-linearly viscous, SEBS block copolymer-based material that becomes more resilient as more energy is applied. Patent:  8661709.  Inventor:  Campbell, et.al. Assignee:  Brooks Sports, Inc.

Method for manufacturing a fluid-filled chamber with a reinforced surface:  A new method for making a fluid filled chamber.  Patent:  8661710.  Inventor:  Dojan and Foxen.  Assignee:  Nike, Inc.

Alternating bonded particles and protrusions:  A material used to fabricate an outsole with indentation and small particles bonded to the indentations.  Methods to manufacture the material and the outsole are included.  Patent:  8661713.  Inventor:  Koo and Goldberg.  Assignee:  Dynasty Footwear, Ltd.

Shoe, particularly a sports shoe:  A shoe with sufficient rigidity for athletic use that can be collapsed for ease of storage or packing.  The shoe consists of a rib structure to provide rigidity and spacers to hold the ribs in place.  When the spacers and outsoles are removed the shoe is able to collapse to a reduced size. Patent:  8661714.  Inventor:  Sussman.  Assignee:  Puma SE.

Reconfigurable footwear:  An article of footwear has hooks which may be attached to the inner and outer peripheral edge of the sole (two or more on each side) to secure different strap or upper covering options.  Patent:  8661715.  Inventor:  Roth.  Not Assigned.

Magnetic fabric retaining device:  Magnetic hoops designed to hold a piece in place for embroidery.  Patent:  8661995.  Inventor:  Mack and Mack.  Assignee:  Midwest Products, Inc. 

Weaving machines and three-dimensional woven fabrics:  A three-dimensional distance woven fabric including two outer fabrics, at inter-layered fabrics with yarns connected with each one of the outer fabrics and the inter-layered fabric.  The gap between the inter-layered fabrics and the outer fabrics of is greater than 20 centimeters and less than 300 centimeters. This is distance is greater than current methods are capable of.  A weaving machine and a method for weaving the aforesaid three-dimensional distance woven fabric are also provided.  Patent 8662112.  Inventor:  Teng, et.al.  Assignee:  Taiwan Textile Research Institute.

Athletic Arm Warmer:  A garment for warming the arm and shoulder of a wearer that includes a single arm portion and a torso portion. Patent 8667613.  Inventor:  Blakely and Dorton.  Assignee:  Under Armour, Inc.

Hairstylist cape device:  A hairstylist cape system that prevents runoff down a person's shirt. The system comprises a standard outer cape and a small inner panel that goes over the head and protects the wearer from hair not captured by the outer cape   Patent 8667614.  Inventor:  Bacon.  Not assigned

Pair of pants and method for donning and removing a pair of pants:  A pair of pants that allows a wearer to easily don and remove the pair of pants while the wearer wears other articles of clothing, apparel, footwear, a cast, or a leg brace The pair of pants has a waistband that encircles a waist of the wearer and attach to legs that can wrap around the pants to close.  Patent 8667615.  Inventor:  Vanderburgh.  Not assigned.

Aqueous dye dispersions:  A method to store and later use stable aqueous (direct) dye dispersions comprising dyes and auxiliaries.  Patent:  8668747.  Inventor:  Lautenbach, et.al.  Assignee:  BASF Se.

Sole for shoes including gas dispenser device:  A shoe sole mount intended to contain a compressed air dispensing system to maintain the pressure in gas filled chambers.  Patent 8667708.  Inventor:  Tsiantos.  Assignee:  Voltabo Anstalt.

Shoe sole orthotic structures and computer controlled compartments:  A shoe sole with compartments for orthotic devices to provide individualized support to the wearer.  Patent 8667709.  Inventor:  Ellis.  Not Assigned.

Fluid-filled bladder for footwear and other applications:  A gas bladder for use in a shoe sole.  Patent 8667710.  Inventor:  Kokstis, et.al.  Assignee:  Nike, Inc.

Article of footwear for snowboarding:  A snowboarding boot.  Patent 8667711.  Inventor: Carboy and Pelletier.  Assignee:  Nike, Inc.

Footwear design personalizing:  A base shoe which is configurable into various design elements.  Patent 8667712. Inventor:  Baum.  Not Assigned. 

Footwear with a foot stabilizer:  An article of footwear which includes a midsole and foot stabilizer. The foot stabilizer includes a longitudinally extending spine portion and a plurality of ribs extending laterally therefrom from opposing lateral and medial sides. The plurality of ribs being positioned to at least partially underlie a foot of a user. The spine portion is disposed above and affixed to the midsole and the ribs are contoured to partially enclose the foot of the user.  Patent 8667713. Inventor: Baudouin.  Assignee:  Nike, Inc.

Attachment and locking system for replaceable traction cleats:  A thinner shoe mounted receptacle results from a thin cleat attachment flange received in a shallow receptacle cavity. An angled interface between the cleat and receptacle provide a friction fit engagement to minimize inadvertent disengagement of the cleat and receptacle. Rotational locking occurring inside or outside the cavity further prevents inadvertent cleat rotation. Multiple positionally synchronized angular stops positively define the final angular orientation of the cleat in the receptacle.  Patent:  8667714.  Inventor:  Burt, et.al.  Assignee:  Pride Manufacturing Company, LLC.

Orthotic devices and methods for manufacturing same:  A orthotic device comprising four to eight configurable panels to allow customization to the foot.  Patent 8667715.  Inventor:  Santopietro and Santopietro.  Assignee:  Santtro, LLC.

Airbag:  An air bag formed from a one piece woven air bag material. The air bag is inexpensive to fabricate without compromises on strength by usint weft yarns and warp yarns of the same linear density.  Patent 8669194.  Inventor:  Kismar and Bray.  Assignee:  Autoliv Development Ab.

Electrical components and circuits constructed as textiles:  Electrical components are formed in a fabric during the weaving process by a series of crossing conductors in the warp and weft fibers of the fabric. Some of the crossing points provide permanent Separation of the crossing conductors, others permanent connection of the crossing conductors and others connection upon the application of pressure to the fabric. The structure provides the possibility of forming a greater range of components and more reliable component characteristics than heretofore possible.  Patent:  8669195.  Inventor.  Swallow and Peta-Thompson.  Assignee:  Intelligent Textiles Limited.

Underwire for a brassiere:  An underwire for a brassiere made of individual elements linked through a joint allowing for relative movement between the elements.  A brassiere incorporating the improved underwire is also provided.  Patent 8668548.  Inventor.  Liu.  Assignee:  Regina Miracle International (Group) Limited.

Jim Carson is a principal of RB Consulting, Inc. and a registered patent agent.  He has over 30 years of experience across multiple industries including the biotechnology, textile, computer, telecommunications, and energy sectors.  RB Consulting, Inc. specializes in providing management, prototyping, and regulatory services to small and start-up businesses.  He can be reached via email at James.Carson.Jr@gmail.com or by phone at (803) 792-2183.

Federal Prison Industries Awarded Army T-Shirt Contract

Federal Prison Industries, Inc., Washington, District of Columbia, has been awarded a maximum $9,687,600 modification (P00103) exercising the fourth option period on a one-year base contract (SPM1C1-10-D-F016), with four one-year option periods. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for physical fitness uniform t-shirts. Locations of performance are the Washington, District of Columbia area and Georgia, with a July 11, 2015, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.