N351582

N351582 August 19, 2025 CLA-2-96:OT:RR:NC:N4:415 CATEGORY: Classification; Marking; Country of Origin TARIFF NO.: 9603.90.8050; 9903.02.69 M. Jason Cunningham Sonnenberg & Cunningham, PA 780 Fifth Avenue South, Suite 200 Naples, FL 34102 RE: The classification, marking, and country of origin of two dryer vent cleaning kits from Vietnam. Dear Mr. Cunningham: In your letter dated July 22, 2025, you requested a classification, marking, and country of origin ruling on behalf of your client, Great Star Tools. There are two products under consideration with both being dryer vent cleaning kits consisting of items from Vietnam and China. Your submission indicates that neither of these two cleaning kits are imported with drills, vacuums, or any parts, other than those listed below. Further, all the parts within these kits are designed to work together to clean lint from dryer vents. The first kit consists of the following items: One 4-inch self-feeding auger brush with plastic bristles One 2.5-inch diameter lint brush with plastic bristles Two plastic 18-inch rods with threaded metal ends One hex key Two M4 screws The two brushes are made in Vietnam, and the other components are sourced from China. The user may connect the rods together, if full length is needed, then attached the auger brush to the rod using the screws and hex key. The brush is then pushed into the dryer vent and turned either manually (by hand) or by attaching the rod to a drill. The auger brush is then pulled out of the dryer vent. The auger brush is removed from the rod and replaced with the lint brush. The lint brush is then pushed into the dryer vent and turned either manually or by attaching the rod to a drill. These steps may be repeated until the user determines the vent is sufficiently clean. The second kit consists of the following items: One 4-inch self-feeding auger brush with plastic bristles One 2.5-inch diameter lint brush with plastic bristles Four plastic 36-inch rods with threaded metal ends One round, plastic dryer adapter One round, plastic vacuum adapter One small, metal “C” shaped “blockage removal tool” One metal drill adapter One 5/16-inch hex nut One hex key Two M4 screws The two brushes are made in Vietnam, and the other components are sourced from China. This set can clean longer vents than the first set but is used similarly. The auger brush is attached to one or more rods, and the drill adapter is attached to the other end of the rod(s) allowing it to be used with a drill. The auger brush is pushed through the vent while turning with the drill and then pulled out. Optionally, when cleaning the vent from the inside of a house, the rod and auger brush are passed through the smaller of the two holes in the plastic vacuum adapter, while a vacuum hose is attached to the larger hole. This allows the adapter to form a seal with the vent hole in the wall so that the lint loosened by the spinning auger is suctioned into the vacuum while the cleaning is being performed. Then the auger brush is removed from the rod(s) and the lint brush is attached to perform the same cleaning steps. This is repeated until the user determines the vent is sufficiently clean. We agree that both cleaning kits would be considered sets for classification purposes, and it would be the brush components of heading 9603 that impart the essential character to them, General Rule of Interpretation 3 (b) noted. The applicable subheading for these two dryer vent cleaning kits will be 9603.90.8050, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “[b]rooms, brushes (including brushes constituting parts of machines, appliances or vehicles), hand-operated mechanical floor sweepers, not motorized, mops and feather dusters; prepared knots and tufts for broom or brush making; paint pads and rollers; squeegees (other than roller squeegees): [o]ther: [o]ther: [o]ther.” The column one, general rate of duty is 2.8% ad valorem. Effective April 5, 2025, Executive Orders implemented “Reciprocal Tariffs.” All imported merchandise must be reported with either the Chapter 99 provision under which the reciprocal tariff applies or one of the Chapter 99 provisions covering exceptions to the reciprocal tariffs. At this time, products of Vietnam will be assessed an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 20 percent. At the time of entry, you must report the Chapter 99 heading applicable to your product classification, i.e., 9903.02.69, in addition to subheading 9603.90.8050, HTSUS, listed above. Your request did not indicate if these components included aluminum, so please note that on March 12, 2025, Presidential proclamation 10895 imposed additional tariffs on certain derivative aluminum products. Additional duties for derivative aluminum products of 50 percent are reflected in Chapter 99, headings 9903.85.04 and 9903.85.07. Products provided by heading 9903.85.08 will be subject to a duty of 50 percent upon the value of the aluminum content. If these kits include derivative aluminum products, at the time of entry, you must report the Chapter 99 heading applicable to your product classification, i.e., 9903.85.08, in addition to subheading 9603.90.8050, HTSUS. Derivative aluminum articles processed in another country from aluminum articles that were smelted and cast in the United States, provided for in heading 9903.85.09, are not subject to the additional ad valorem duties. 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/current. When determining the country of origin, the substantial transformation analysis is applicable. See, e.g., Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) H301619, dated November 6, 2018. The test for determining whether a substantial transformation will occur is whether an article emerges from a process with a new name, character, or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. See Texas Instruments Inc. v. United States, 681 F.2d 778 (C.C.P.A. 1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 C.I.T. 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993). In order to determine whether a substantial transformation occurs when components are assembled into completed products, all factors such as the components used to create the product and manufacturing processes that these components undergo are considered in order to determine whether a product with a new name, character, and use has been produced. No one factor is decisive, and assembly/manufacturing operations that are minimal will generally not result in a substantial transformation. As these two kits are considered sets, we hold the opinion that the country of origin for both would be provided by the source country for the vent brushes, which is Vietnam. Therefore, the country of origin for these two dryer vent cleaning kits would be Vietnam. The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 USC 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. As provided in 19 CFR 134.41(b), the country-of-origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. can find the marking easily and read it without strain. Regarding the permanency of a marking, 19 CFR 134.41(a) provides that, as a general rule, marking requirements are best met by marking worked into the article at the time of manufacture. For example, it is suggested that the country of origin on metal articles be die sunk, molded in, or etched. However, 19 CFR 134.44 generally provides that any marking that

is applicable. See, e.g., Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) H301619, dated November 6, 2018. The test for determining whether a substantial transformation will occur is whether an article emerges from a process with a new name, character, or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. See Texas Instruments Inc. v. United States, 681 F.2d 778 (C.C.P.A. 1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 C.I.T. 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993). In order to determine whether a substantial transformation occurs when components are assembled into completed products, all factors such as the components used to create the product and manufacturing processes that these components undergo are considered in order to determine whether a product with a new name, character, and use has been produced. No one factor is decisive, and assembly/manufacturing operations that are minimal will generally not result in a substantial transformation. As these two kits are considered sets, we hold the opinion that the country of origin for both would be provided by the source country for the vent brushes, which is Vietnam. Therefore, the country of origin for these two dryer vent cleaning kits would be Vietnam. The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 USC 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. As provided in 19 CFR 134.41(b), the country-of-origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. can find the marking easily and read it without strain. Regarding the permanency of a marking, 19 CFR 134.41