Effective July 1 the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will impose a new requirement on sewing thread that was not present under NAFTA.
Specifically, apparel and clothing accessories of HTSUS Chapter 61 or 62 containing sewing thread of headings 5204 (cotton), 5401 (manmade filaments), or 5508 (manmade staple fiber), or yarn of heading 5402 (synthetic filament yarn) used as sewing thread, will only be considered originating if that thread is both formed and finished in the territory of one or more USMCA parties.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, sewing thread will meet this criterion if all production processes and finishing operations (starting with the extrusion of filaments, strips, film, or sheet and including slitting a film or sheet into strip, or the spinning of all fibers into yarn, or both, and ending with the finished single or plied thread ready for use for sewing without further processing) took place in the territories of one or more USMCA parties, even if non-originating fiber is used in the production of sewing thread of heading 5204, 5401, or 5508 or yarn of heading 5402 used as sewing thread.
For more information on trade-related issues affecting textiles and apparel, please contact attorney Elise Shibles at (415) 490-1403 or via email.
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