The tariff classification, country of origin determination, and status under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of a retractable fiberglass mesh woven screen from Canada
Active· CBP ruling HQ N363205· Issued 2026-08-04
Ruling text
N363205
August 4, 2026
CLA-2-70:OT:RR:NC:N2:352
CATEGORY: Classification
TARIFF NO.: 7019.90.1100
Misty Gibbins Pacific Customs Brokers Inc. 2150 Peace Portal Drive Blaine, WA 98230 RE: The tariff classification, country of origin determination, and status under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of a retractable fiberglass mesh woven screen from Canada Dear Ms. Gibbins: In your letter dated July 10, 2026, you requested a ruling on behalf of your client, Wizard Industries Inc. dba Wizard Screens, on the tariff classification, country of origin and status under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) for a retractable screen. A sample of the fabric was provided with your request and will be retained for reference purposes. Item VS-R0700B/Plus-F, described as "VistaView Plus Retractable Fiberglass Screen" is a retractable screen designed to be permanently attached to a framed opening, such as a patio, large doorway, or window, and is intended to provide weather, light, and insect protection. The assembly features a Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) coated fiberglass mesh woven fabric panel attached to a roll-up mechanism, a pull bar at the opposite end, and two guide rails. You state the fabric panel is composed of 65 percent polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and 35 percent fiberglass mesh woven fabric. Prior to weaving, the 100 percent fiberglass yarn is coated with PVC. The fiberglass mesh woven fabric panel is assembled on to a roll tube, inserted into a housing for weather protection, and fully retracts while not in use for an unobstructed view. The screen opens side-to-side along a horizontal track by gently pulling the handle attached to the pull bar to the desired position. To close and store the screen, you guide the pull bar back toward the housing, allowing the tension system to smoothly retract the fabric panel. The screen is custom built to cover an opening up to 21 feet 6 inches in width by 12 feet in height. You state there are no separate brackets since the screen has built-in mounting holes. The selling dealer will determine the best fasteners to use based on the substrate in which the PVC fiberglass screen is being attached to.
The manufacturing operations of Item VS-R0700B/Plus-F described as “VistaView Plus Retractable Fiberglass Screen” are as follows: Mexico: Fiberglass yarn is manufactured and shipped to United States on spools. The United States: The fiberglass yarns are extrusion-coated with a protective PVC sheath. These PVC-coated fiberglass yarns are woven into a heavy-duty mesh fabric and heat-set to finalize the stable screening material. Pull bar brake rod and bumpers are produced and shipped to Canada. Finished Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) coated fiberglass mesh woven fabric is shipped in bulk rolls to Canada. Australia: Track guides, zip guides, housing end caps, pull bar end caps, brake arm, brake lever, brake adjuster, brake shoe, brake spring, mesh retainer, steel spring, roller pivot anti-wrinkle with bearing, cap pivot, cap spindle, stainless steel collars, handle bushes, handle bush A, handle shaft, track latch single A, latch single B, handle lock, pull bar cap plug straight, and set of screws are produced and shipped to Canada. Japan: Chain zipper is produced and shipped to Canada. Taiwan: Flat screw, Pan Tek screw, and Pan screw, handle bush B from Taiwan. Canada: Housing (front and back), pull bar, roll tube, track, receiver, turn sticker, spline roll tube, and spline roll bar are produced. Fabric is cut to size and assembled with the mechanical hardware components which include (roller tube and aluminum housing). The completed retractable mesh screen is packaged in a carton and shipped to the United States. ISSUE: What is the classification, country of origin and status under USMCA of the subject merchandise? Classification: The VS-R0700B/Plus-F described as “VistaView Plus Retractable Fiberglass Screen” is a composite good consisting of a (PVC)-coated fiberglass mesh woven fabric (heading 7019) and aluminum frame (heading 7610). General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 1, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), states in part that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings,
any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRI’s taken in order. Goods that are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, are classifiable in accordance with GRI 3. GRI 3(a) states that the heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description. However, when two or more headings refer to part only of the items in a composite good, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to the goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the good. As such, they are regarded as equally specific and classification of the composite good is to be determined by GRI 3(b) or GRI 3(c). GRI 3(b) states in part that composite goods, which cannot be classified by reference to GRI 3(a), are to be classified as if they consisted of the component which gives them their essential character. In this case, the PVC-coated fiberglass mesh performs the primary function of keeping insects out and providing a bug-free home. While the aluminum frame provides structural support, housing, and a track system, it remains a secondary component. Therefore, in accordance with GRI 3(b), the essential character of the retractable screen is the PVC-coated fiberglass mesh, and the composite good is classified under heading 7019. In your request, you suggest that the VS-R0700B/Plus-F described as “VistaView Plus Retractable Fiberglass Screen” should be classified under subheading 7019.90.9150, HTSUS. Please note that subheading 7019.90.9150 is not a valid (HTSUS) number, and we assume that you probably intended to use subheading 7019.90.5150, HTSUS, which provides for “Glass fibers (including glass wool) and articles thereof... Other: Other: Other: Other.” However, subheading 7019.90.5150, HTSUS, is a residual “basket provision” for general glass articles and a more specific subheading is applicable to this product. Because this product is a f inished article composed of a woven mesh fabric, it should be classified under the more specific subheading rather than the residual provision. The applicable subheading for Item VS-R0700B/Plus-F, described as “VistaView Plus Retractable Fiberglass Screen” will be 7019.90.1100, HTSUS, which provides for “Glass fibers (including glass wool) and articles thereof (for example, yarn, rovings, woven fabrics): Other: Woven.” The general rate of duty will be 4.8 percent ad valorem. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - LAW AND ANALYSIS: 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. 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) 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 7019.61-7019.90 A change to subheading 7019.61 through 7019.90 from any other subheading, provided that the change is the result of 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. Based on the information provided, Item VS-R0700B/Plus-F, described as “VistaView Plus Retractable Fiberglass Screen” is a composite good whose essential character is imparted by the PVC-coated fiberglass mesh woven fabric, which is classified under subheading 7019.90.1100, HTSUS. As the PVC-coated fiberglass mesh woven fabric is formed in a single country, that is, United States, as per the terms of the tariff shift requirement, the country of origin is conferred as the United States, pursuant to 19 CFR 102.21(c)(2). USMCA: The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was signed by the Governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada on November 30, 2018. The USMCA was approved by the U.S. Congress with the enactment on January 29, 2020, of the USMCA Implementation Act, Pub. L. 116-113, 134 Stat. 11, 14 (19 U.S.C. § 4511(a)). General Note ("GN") 11 of the HTSUS implements the USMCA. GN 11(b) sets forth the criteria for determining whether a good is an originating good for purposes of the USMCA. GN 11(b) states: For the purposes of this note, a good imported into the customs territory of the United States from the territory of a USMCA country, as defined in subdivision (l) of this note, is eligible for the preferential tariff treatment provided for in the applicable subheading and quantitative limitations set forth in the tariff schedule as a "good originating in the territory of a USMCA country" only if- (i) the good is a good wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries; (ii) the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries, exclusively from originating materials; (iii) the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries using non-originating materials, if the good satisfies all applicable requirements set forth in this note (including the provisions of subdivision (o)); or Since the retractable screen contains various non-originating components from Australia, Japan, and Taiwan, the shades are not considered a good wholly obtained or produced entirely in a USMCA country under GN 11(b)(i) nor is the screen produced exclusively from originating materials under GN 11(b)(ii). Therefore, we must determine next whether the screen qualifies under GN 11(b)(iii). The retractable (PVC)-coated f iberglass mesh screen is classified under subheading 7019.90.1100, HTSUS. The applicable rule of origin for goods classified under heading 7019, HTSUS, is in GN 11(o)/70.10, HTSUS, which provides [a] change to heading 7019 from any other heading, except from headings 7007 through 7018 or 7020.
Based on the facts provided, Item VS-R0700B/Plus-F, described as “VistaView Plus Retractable Fiberglass Screen” qualifies for USMCA preferential tariff treatment under General Note 11(b)(iii). Because the finished screen is classified based on its woven fabric panel (heading 7019, HTSUS), the tariff shift rule focuses strictly on that component. The fiberglass yarn originates in Mexico and is PVC-coated and woven into fabric in the United States. While the final assembly is completed in Canada using non-originating frame components from Australia, Japan, and Taiwan, those foreign materials successfully undergo the prescribed tariff shift into heading 7019. Because the core fabric component originates and all processing occurs entirely within the territories of USMCA member nations, the finished goods are entitled to a free rate of duty. HOLDING: The applicable subheading for Item VS-R0700B/Plus-F, described as “VistaView Plus Retractable Fiberglass Screen” is 7019.90.1100, HTSUS, which provides for “Glass fibers (including glass wool) and articles thereof (for example, yarn, rovings, woven fabrics): Other: Woven.” The general rate of duty will be 4.8 percent ad valorem. The country of origin for VS-R0700B/Plus-F, described as “VistaView Plus Retractable Fiberglass Screen” is conferred as the United States, pursuant to 19 CFR 102.21(c)(2). Based on the information and fabric swatches provided, the VS-R0700B/Plus-F, described as “VistaView Plus Retractable Fiberglass Screen” is eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA upon compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and agreements. The duties cited above are current as of this ruling’s issuance. Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided at https://hts.usitc.gov/. This ruling does not address the applicability of any additional duties, taxes, fees, exactions and/or other charges, which may apply to the goods discussed herein. This includes, but is not limited to, tariffs and other duties as provided for in Subchapter III to Chapter 99, HTSUS. Thus, for example, in addition to the classification stated above, the merchandise covered by this ruling may also need to be reported with either the Chapter 99 provision under which an additional tariff applies or one of the Chapter 99 provisions covering exceptions to such tariffs. For further information to assist with the importation process, please refer to the frequently updated Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) messages at https://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated/cargo-systems-messaging-service and the Trade Remedies page at https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/trade-remedies. The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by CBP. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border Protection Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, please contact National Import Specialist Nicole Rosso at nicole.rosso@cbp.dhs.gov.
Sincerely,
(for) James P. Forkan Director National Commodity Specialist Division
Source: rulings.cbp.gov — ruling N363205, retrieved 2026-10-12T06:05:53Z, republished verbatim. This digest is informational; only CBP issues binding rulings.