Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 15, 2024 / Notices 83029 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: Eunice Kennedy 

Shriver National Institute of Child Health and 

Human Development Special Emphasis 

Panel; Population Sciences Study Section/ 

Member Conflict. 

Date: November 22, 2024. 

Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Address: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National 

Institute of Child Health and Human 

Development, 6710 Rockledge Drive, 

Bethesda, MD 20892. 

Meeting Format: Virtual Meeting. 

Contact Person: Jagpreet Singh Nanda, 

Ph.D., Scientific Review Branch, Eunice 

Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child 

Health and Human Development, National 

Institutes of Health, 6710B Rockledge Drive, 

Rm. 2125D, Bethesda, MD 20892, (301) 451– 

4454, jagpreet.nanda@nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.864, Population Research; 

93.865, Research for Mothers and Children; 

93.929, Center for Medical Rehabilitation 

Research; 93.209, Contraception and 

Infertility Loan Repayment Program, National 

Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: October 8, 2024. 

Lauren A. Fleck, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23686 Filed 10–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Notice of Issuance of Final 

Determination Concerning Surgical 

Towels 

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection, Department of Homeland 

Security. 

ACTION: Notice of final determination. 

SUMMARY: This document provides 

notice that U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP) has issued a final 

determination concerning the country of 

origin of certain surgical towels. Based 

upon the facts presented, CBP has 

concluded in the final determination 

that the country of origin of the surgical 

towels in question is Bangladesh for 

purposes of U.S. Government 

procurement. 

DATES: The final determination was 

issued on October 7, 2024. A copy of the 

final determination is attached. Any 

party-at-interest, as defined in 19 CFR 

177.22(d), may seek judicial review of 

this final determination no later than 

November 14, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marie Durane ́, Food, Textiles and 

Marking Branch, Regulations and 

Rulings, Office of Trade, at 

marie.durane@cbp.dhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that on October 7, 2024, 

CBP issued a final determination 

concerning the country of origin of 

certain surgical towels for purposes of 

Title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 

1979. This final determination, HQ 

H339826, was issued at the request of 

Global Resources International, under 

procedures set forth at 19 CFR part 177, 

subpart B, which implements title III of 

the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as 

amended (19 U.S.C. 2511–18). In the 

final determination, CBP has concluded 

that, based upon the facts presented, the 

country of origin of the surgical towels 

is Bangladesh for purposes of U.S. 

Government procurement. 

Section 177.29, CBP Regulations (19 

CFR 177.29), provides that notice of 

final determinations shall be published 

in the Federal Register within 60 days 

of the date the final determination is 

issued. Section 177.30, CBP Regulations 

(19 CFR 177.30), provides that any 

party-at-interest, as defined in 19 CFR 

177.22(d), may seek judicial review of a 

final determination within 30 days of 

publication of such determination in the 

Federal Register. 

Alice A. Kipel, 

Executive Director, Regulations and Rulings, 

Office of Trade. 

HQ H339826 

October 7, 2024 

OT:RR:CTF:FTM H339826 MJD 

CATEGORY: Origin 

Ms. Lisa Murrin, LCB 

Senior Consultant, U.S. Trade Advisory 

Services 

Expeditors Tradewin, LLC 

795 Jubilee Drive 

Peabody, MA 01960 

RE: 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 

Towels 

Dear Ms. Murrin: 

This is in response to your request, dated 

April 12, 2024, on behalf of your client, 

Global Resources International (‘‘GRI’’), for a 

final determination concerning the country of 

origin of surgical towels, pursuant to Title III 

of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 

(‘‘TAA’’), as amended (19 U.S.C. 2511 et 

seq.), and subpart B of Part 177, U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection (‘‘CBP’’) Regulations 

(19 CFR 177.21, et seq.). Your request, 

submitted as an electronic ruling request, 

was forwarded to this office from the 

National Commodity Specialist Division. GRI 

is a party-at-interest within the meaning of 19 

CFR 177.22(d)(1) and 177.23(a) and is 

therefore entitled to request this final 

determination. 

Facts 

The subject merchandise consists of blue 

surgical towels made from 100 percent cotton 

huckaback weave fabric. The imported 

towels, measuring either 17 x 24 or 17 x 27 

inches, may or may not be sterilized, but are 

autoclaved. The towels are used during 

surgery for the absorption of fluids. The 

cotton fabric used to make the towels is from 

Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the fabric is 

woven and dyed blue. Then the fabric is 

shipped to Vietnam in rolls, where it is cut 

to size, sewn, autoclaved, packaged, and 

shipped to the United States. The surgical 

towels are classified under subheading 

6307.90.89, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 

the United States (‘‘HTSUS’’). 

Issue 

What is the country of origin of the surgical 

towels for purposes of U.S. Government 

procurement? 

Law and Analysis 

CBP issues country of origin advisory 

rulings and final determinations as to 

whether an article is or would be a product 

of a designated country or instrumentality for 

the purposes of granting waivers of certain 

‘‘Buy American’’ restrictions in U.S. law or 

practice for products offered for sale to the 

U.S. Government, pursuant to subpart B of 

Part 177, 19 CFR 177.21–177.31, which 

implements Title III of the TAA, as amended 

(19 U.S.C. 2511–2518). 

CBP’s authority to issue advisory rulings 

and final determinations is set forth in 19 

U.S.C. 2515(b)(1), which states: 

For the purposes of this subchapter, the 

Secretary of the Treasury shall provide for 

the prompt issuance of advisory rulings and 

final determinations on whether, under 

section 2518(4)(B) of this title, an article is 

or would be a product of a foreign country 

or instrumentality designated pursuant to 

section 2511(b) of this title. 

Emphasis added. 

The Secretary of the Treasury’s authority 

mentioned above, along with other customs 

revenue functions, are delegated to CBP in 

the Appendix to 19 CFR part 0—Treasury 

Department Order No. 100–16, 68 FR 28322 

(May 23, 2003). 

The rule of origin set forth under 19 U.S.C. 

2518(4)(B) states: 

An article is a product of a country or 

instrumentality only if (i) it is wholly the 

growth, product, or manufacture of that 

country or instrumentality, or (ii) in the case 

of an article which consists in whole or in 

part of materials from another country or 

instrumentality, it has been substantially 

transformed into a new and different article 

of commerce with a name, character, or use 

distinct from that of the article or articles 

from which it was so transformed. 

See also 19 CFR 177.22(a). 

In rendering advisory rulings and final 

determinations for purposes of U.S. 

Government procurement, CBP applies the 


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83030 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 15, 2024 / Notices 

provisions of subpart B of Part 177 consistent 

with the Federal Procurement Regulation 

(‘‘FAR’’). See 19 CFR 177.21. In this regard, 

CBP recognizes that the FAR restricts the 

U.S. Government’s purchase of products to 

U.S.-made or designated country end 

products for acquisitions subject to the TAA. 

See 48 CFR 25.403(c)(1). 

The FAR, 48 CFR 25.003, defines 

‘‘designated country end product’’ as: 

a WTO GPA [World Trade Organization 

Government Procurement Agreement] 

country end product, an FTA [Free Trade 

Agreement] country end product, a least 

developed country end product, or a 

Caribbean Basin country end product. 

Section 25.003 defines ‘‘Least developed 

country end product’’ as an article that: 

(1) Is wholly the growth, product, or 

manufacture of a least developed country; or 

(2) In the case of an article that consists in 

whole or in part of materials from another 

country, has been substantially transformed 

in a least developed country into a new and 

different article of commerce with a name, 

character, or use distinct from that of the 

article or articles from which it was 

transformed. The term refers to a product 

offered for purchase under a supply contract, 

but for purposes of calculating the value of 

the end product includes services (except 

transportation services) incidental to the 

article, provided that the value of those 

incidental services does not exceed that of 

the article itself. 

As previously noted, the fabric from 

Bangladesh is cut to size, sewn, autoclaved, 

and packaged in Vietnam. Bangladesh is a 

TAA-designated country, and Vietnam is not. 

The information submitted indicates that 

the surgical towels are made of 100% cotton. 

GRI also indicates that the goods are 

classified in subheading 6307.90.89, HTSUS, 

as a textile product. The rules of origin for 

textile and apparel products for purposes of 

the customs laws and the administration of 

quantitative restrictions are governed by 19 

U.S.C. 3592, unless otherwise provided for 

by statute. These provisions are implemented 

in the CBP Regulations at 19 CFR 102.21. 

Section 3592 of title 19 has been described 

as Congress’s expression of substantial 

transformation as it relates to textile and 

apparel products. Therefore, the country of 

origin of the surgical towels for Government 

procurement purposes is determined by 

sequential application of the general rules set 

forth in paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(5) of 19 

CFR 102.21. 

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.’’ Since the surgical 

towels are produced by processing in both 

Bangladesh and Vietnam, they are not wholly 

obtained or produced in a single country, 

territory or insular possession. Therefore 

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)(1) provides that ‘‘The 

following rules will apply for purposes of 

determining the country of origin of a textile 

or apparel product under paragraph (c)(2) of 

this section.’’ The applicable rule, that 

corresponds to subheading 6307.90.89, 

HTSUS, states: 

6307.90 The country of origin of a good 

classifiable under subheading 6307.90 is the 

country, territory, or insular possession in 

which the fabric comprising the good was 

formed by a fabric-making process. 

In the instant case, the 100% cotton fabric 

that is woven and dyed blue in Bangladesh 

is imported into Vietnam where it is cut to 

size, sewn, and autoclaved to make surgical 

towels. Therefore, the country of origin of the 

surgical towels is Bangladesh, where the 

100% cotton fabric that comprises the 

surgical towel was formed by a fabric-making 

process. As the surgical towels meet the 

requirements for goods classified in 

subheading 6307.90, HTSUS, pursuant to 19 

CFR 102.21(c)(2), the country of origin of the 

surgical towels is Bangladesh. 

Based on the analysis above, we find that 

the country of origin of the subject surgical 

towels is Bangladesh and, therefore, the 

surgical towels would be the product of a 

foreign country or instrumentality designated 

pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2511(b)(1). 

Holding 

Based on the facts and analysis set forth 

above, the country of origin of the instant 

surgical towels will be Bangladesh. 

Notice of this final determination will be 

given in the Federal Register, as required by 

19 CFR 177.29. Any party-at-interest other 

than the party which requested this final 

determination may request, pursuant to 19 

CFR 177.31, that CBP reexamine the matter 

anew and issue a new final determination. 

Pursuant to 19 CFR 177.30, any party-atinterest may, within 30 days of publication 

of the Federal Register Notice referenced 

above, seek judicial review of this final 

determination before the U.S. Court of 

International Trade. 

Sincerely, 

Alice A. Kipel, Executive Director, 

Regulations and Rulings, 

Office of Trade. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23652 Filed 10–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–14–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

[OMB Control Number 1651–0140] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Extension; Collection of 

Advance Information From Certain 

Undocumented Individuals on the 

Land Border 

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP), Department of 

Homeland Security. 

ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland 

Security, U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP) will be submitting the 

following information collection request 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and approval in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). The 

information collection is published in 

the Federal Register to obtain comments 

from the public and affected agencies. 

DATES: Comments are encouraged and 

must be submitted (no later than 

December 16, 2024) to be assured of 

consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and/or 

suggestions regarding the item(s) 

contained in this notice must include 

the OMB Control Number 1651–0140 in 

the subject line and the agency name. 

Please submit written comments and/or 

suggestions in English. Please use the 

following method to submit comments: 

Email. Submit comments to: CBP_

PRA@cbp.dhs.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional PRA information 

should be directed to Seth Renkema, 

Chief, Economic Impact Analysis 

Branch, U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection, Office of Trade, Regulations 

and Rulings, 90 K Street NE, 10th Floor, 

Washington, DC 20229–1177, 

Telephone number 202–325–0056 or via 

email CBP_PRA@cbp.dhs.gov. Please 

note that the contact information 

provided here is solely for questions 

regarding this notice. Individuals 

seeking information about other CBP 

programs should contact the CBP 

National Customer Service Center at 

877–227–5511, (TTY) 1–800–877–8339, 

or CBP website at https://www.cbp.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CBP 

invites the general public and other 

Federal agencies to comment on the 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections pursuant to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.). This process is conducted in 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES