H309128

HQ H309128 November 12, 2020 OT:RR:CTF:VS H309128 EGJ CATEGORY: Origin Mr. James Lay Geotab USA, Inc. 770 E. Pilot Rd., Suite A Las Vegas, NV 89119 Re: U.S. Government Procurement; Country of Origin of Three Vehicle Tracking Devices, Satellite Device, NFC Reader, and NFC Keyring Fob; Substantial Transformation Dear Mr. Lay: This is in response to your ruling request, dated February 6, 2020, requesting a final determination on behalf of Geotab USA, Inc. (“Geotab”) pursuant to subpart B of Part 177 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Regulations (19 C.F.R. Part 177). This final determination concerns the country of origin of three vehicle tracking devices, one satellite device, one near field communication (“NFC”) reader, and one NFC identification keyring fob. As a U.S. importer, Geotab is a party-at-interest within the meaning of 19 C.F.R. § 177.22(d)(1) and is entitled to request this final determination. FACTS: Geotab is a technology company which designs and imports vehicle tracking systems, and has submitted six different products for our review. The products’ descriptions, pictures, and manufacturing processes are set forth below. Product Descriptions The first three products are telematics devices, which are designed to transmit vehicle tracking information over long distances. Specifically, the three products are: The GO9 device and its component harnesses; The GO9-NOGPSF, which is a GO9 device with the GPS permanently disabled, and its component harness; and The GR8 (ATT-GRLTEA1), which is a rugged version of the GO8 device that can be used for harsh conditions and installed on the exterior of a vehicle, for example on a truck trailer or on heavy equipment, and its component harness. You state that the three vehicle tracking devices are very similar in design. When each end product is packaged, it includes the tracking device with one or more harnesses (communications and data cables), and other minor components, such as zip ties, mounting brackets, decals or stickers, and screws. A harness may be an external component that is plugged into the device or it may be a component built into the item. You have provided the following picture of the GO9 device, which does not have a built-in harness: 
 You have also provided the following picture of the GR8 device, which does have a built-in harness: 
 In addition, you have asked for a determination of the country of origin of a satellite device, which is an auxiliary item that plugs into a GO9 or GO8 device and that allows the GO9 or GO8 device to communicate over the satellite network when cellular connectivity is lost. The satellite add-on is a single device with two external components. Pictured below, it consists of the satellite device (the silver box on the lower left side), an IOX integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) (the rectangular unit at the bottom of the image), and an external antenna (the black square unit on the top right of the image), which are delivered connected together with a zip tie: 
 Finally, you have also requested a determination regarding an NFC reader and an NFC keyring fob, described as follows: An IOX NFC reader (IOX-NFC-READERA), which allows dispatchers or managers to easily view where each driver is at any point in time and to monitor each driver as s/he operates a vehicle; and An NFC identification keyring fob (GEO-NFC FOB BLUE20), used in conjunction with the NFC reader to identify the individual driver operating a vehicle. NFC technology allows two devices placed within a few centimeters of each other to exchange data. In order for this to work, both devices must be equipped with an NFC chip and an antenna. According to your website, the NFC reader plugs into the Geotab vehicle tracking device. Each authorized vehicle driver has an assigned NFC keyring fob with a specific serial number assigned to that driver. The driver swipes the NFC keyring fob across the NFC reader before beginning the trip so that the vehicle tracking device can register who is driving the vehicle. See “NFC Driver ID Technology: How to Use and Install,” (April 5, 2018) available at https://www.geotab.com/blog/driver-id/. You state that the NFC reader is a single unit featuring a black rectangular casing and a long connecting wire. It is pictured below with the NFC keyring fob (the blue item with an attached key ring, second from the right) and other minor components, such as the mounting bracket and screws, double sided tape for installation (the red item), the NFC sticker (the item on the far right), and a zip tie. You note that the NFC keyring fob and the sticker are sold separately. 
 Three Vehicle Tracking Devices You state that the GO9, the GO9-NOGPSF, and the GR8 vehicle tracking devices all have a similar manufacturing process. Each device consists of both Canadian and non-Canadian components, and two main components of each product are a printed circuit board assembly (“PCBA”) and proprietary software. The PCBAs for each of these products are manufactured in Canada. Additionally, all of the PCBAs for these three devices are loaded with software developed in Canada. You have provided us with the details of the manufacturing process for the GO9 device as a representative example. For the GO9 and other two devices, most of the components are imported into Canada from China. At a facility in Canada, the PCBAs are assembled from two major components: a main card and a daughter card. To produce these two boards, blank printed circuit boards are run through surface mount technology (“SMT”) machines and are populated with different components. The GPS device is surface mounted to the main board and an antenna is attached to the daughter board. Next, the two boards are combined together into a single PCBA. The inert PCBAs are shipped from the manufacturing facility to Geotab’s facility which is also in Ontario, Canada. At Geotab’s facility, the following six processes are performed: (1) programming and testing, (2) closing, (3) scanning, (4) packaging, (5) labeling, and (6) debugging. During the first programming and testing phase, Geotab loads the final firmware and configurations onto the PCBA’s subassembly. This firmware was also developed in Canada. Then a SIM card is placed into the subassembly and the unit is tested. Various labels are affixed to parts of the unit, including the casing. The subassembly is inserted into the casing, then the unit is tested, inspected, and finally the casing is closed. Then the light pipe, labels, and decals are added. The device is placed in a box with its product literature and zip tie. You note that the harness is a communication and data cable that is either hard-wired into the device or plugs into the device. The harness allows interaction between the device and the vehicle; it also provides connectivity to facilitate the transmission and collection of data. In many instances, an external harness is not necessary because the device can be plugged directly into the vehicle’s On-Board Diagnostics (“OBD”) port. You state the harnesses are subsidiary items, and that all of harnesses for these devices are currently sourced from China. You state that the devices are packaged together with their harnesses when they are shipped to the final customer in the United States. IOX Satellite Add-On Turning to the satellite device, it is made up of three major components which connect to each other via an electrical cord: the satellite box, an IOX integrated receiver/decoder (“IRD”), and an external antenna. The satellite box contains a PCBA, an internal antenna, and a modem. All of the discrete components of the satellite box are imported into Canada. The blank board is populated with the discrete components, including the modem, using SMT equipment at a facility in Canada. Then, the PCBA is shipped to Geotab’s facility in Canada. At Geotab, the antenna is attached to the PCBA, which is then tested and packaged in its outer casing. This finished satelli

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 C.F.R. § 177.21 et seq., which implements Title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 2511 et seq.).Under the rule of origin set forth under 19 U.S.C. § 2518(4)(B):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 C.F.R. § 177.22(a).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, 69 C.C.P.A. 151 (1982). In order to determine whether a substantial transformation has occurred, CBP considers the totality of the circumstances and makes such determinations on a case-by-case basis. CBP has stated that a new and different article of commerce is an article that has undergone a change in commercial designation or identity, fundamental character, or commercial use. A determinative issue is the extent of the operations performed and whether the materials lose their identity and become an integral part of the new article. This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 CIT 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201