H314566

HQ H314566 June 17, 2021 OT:RR:CTF:VS H314566 UBB CATEGORY: Origin Alma Arabelovic Robert Bosch LLC 2800 S. 25th Avenue Broadview, IL 60155-4594 RE: Country of origin of FB3 Wiper Blade assembled in Mexico; Marking; Section 301 trade remedy; 9903.88.03, HTSUS Dear Ms. Arabelovic: This is in response to your October 1, 2020 ruling request regarding the country of origin of FB3 wiper blades, which will be assembled in Mexico, for purposes of marking and Section 301 trade remedies. The ruling below takes into consideration the updated materials you provided at the May 11, 2021 meeting. FACTS: Robert Bosch LLC provides automotive, industrial technology, and consumer goods. The company produces auto parts, commercial vehicle equipment, home appliances, power tools, packaging technology, production tools, and security systems. Bosch plans to assemble the FB3 wiper blade (“wiper blade”) in Mexico. The FB3 is a beam-type wiper blade featuring dual precision-tensioned steel springs that distributes uniform pressure along the entire length of the blade. The wiper blade is used to clear water, debris and dust from a vehicle’s windscreen. You state that the FB3 wiper blade will be partially manufactured and assembled in Mexico. You classify the finished wiper blade under subheading 8512.90.90, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The imported components used to produce the wiper blade include steel coil from China (classified in 7217.90.50, HTSUS), which is cut to size in Mexico, bent to shape, and formed using a punch press to create holes for final wiper blade assembly. You state that this cutting and bending process is precise and engineered to product specifications, and that accurate bending of the flat vertebra is key to proper wiper performance. The flat blade vertebra is then assembled with the remaining imported components: a rubber wiper blade element from a country in Europe (classified in 4016.99.60, HTSUS), a basic adaptor, a spoiler, and an end cap from Kosovo (all classified in 8512.90.90, HTSUS), and a hook connector/holding spring, a plastic beauty cover, and a holding spring from China (all classified in 8512.90.90), HTSUS. With the exception of the steel coil, all other components of non-Mexican origin are imported as-is with their end-use determined. ISSUE: What is the country of origin of the FB3 wiper blade for the purposes of marking and Section 301 trade remedies? LAW AND ANALYSIS: Marking The marking statute, Section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the United States 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 United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. Part 134 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Regulations (19 C.F.R. Part 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. § 1304. To provide a more seamless transition to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) for Canadian and Mexican traders, at this time, CBP continues to utilize the marking rules in 19 C.F.R. Part 102, with the exception of 19 C.F.R. § 102.19, for purposes of country of origin marking with respect to goods of those countries. Title 19, C.F.R. § 102.11(a) provides that the country of origin of a good is the country in which: The good is wholly obtained or produced; The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or (3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in § 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied. “Material” means a good that is incorporated into another good as a result of production with respect to that other good, and includes parts, ingredients, subassemblies, and components.” 19 C.F.R. § 102.1(l). “Foreign material” is defined in Section 102.1(e) as “a material whose country of origin as determined under these rules is not the same country as the country in which the good is produced.” The wiper blade is neither “wholly obtained or produced” nor “produced exclusively from domestic materials.” Therefore, paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) cannot be used to determine the country of origin of the wiper blade, and paragraph (a)(3) must be applied next to determine the origin of the finished article. The tariff shift requirement in Section 102.20(o) for the wiper blade at issue states: A change to subheading 8512.90 from any other subheading. This tariff shift rule requires a shift to subheading 8512.90, HTSUS, from any other subheading. There are two wiper blade components (the steel coil and the wiper blade element) classified in subheadings other than 8512.90, HTSUS, and these undergo the required tariff shift. The remaining components (the basic adaptor, the spoiler, the hook connector/holding spring, the additional holding spring, the plastic beauty cover, and the end cap) are classified in 8512.90, HTSUS at the time they are imported into Mexico and therefore do not undergo the change in tariff classification set out in 19 C.F.R. § 102.20(o). Since no country of origin determination can be made applying Section 102.11(a) for the components that were classified in subheading 8512.90, HTSUS when imported into Mexico, the analysis continues with Section 102.11(b), which instructs us to examine the wiper blade’s “essential character” to determine its country of origin. Section 102.11(b) states, in relevant part: Except for a good that is specifically described in the Harmonized System as a set, or is classified as a set pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation [(“GRI”)] 3, where the country of origin cannot be determined under paragraph (a) of this section: The country of origin of the good is the country or countries of origin of the single material that imparts the essential character to the good …. In determining the “essential character” of the finished good, Section 102.18(b)(1) provides, in relevant part: (b) (1) For purposes of identifying the material that imparts the essential character to a good under § 102.11, the only materials that shall be taken into consideration are those domestic or foreign materials that are classified in a tariff provision from which a change in tariff classification is not allowed under the § 102.20 specific rule or other requirements applicable to the good … (ii) Materials that may be considered include materials produced by the producer of the good and incorporated in the good. For example, if a producer of a good purchases raw materials and converts those raw materials into a component that is incorporated in the good, that component is a material that may be considered for purposes of identifying the materials that impart the essential character to the good, provided that the component is classified in a tariff provision from which a change in tariff classification is not allowed under the specific rule or other requirements applicable to the good; … (2) For purposes of determining which one of two or more materials described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section imparts the essential character to a good under § 102.11, various factors may be examined depending upon the type of good involved. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: The nature of each material, such as its bulk, quantity, weight or value; and (ii) The role of each material in relation to the use of the good. Here, the steel coil, classified under subheading 7217.90, HTSUS and the wiper blade element, classified under subheading 4016.99, HTSUS undergo the applicable tariff shift in 19 C.F.R. § 102.20(o), however, the remaining components (the basic adaptor, the spoiler, the hook connect

Marking The marking statute, Section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the United States 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 United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. Part 134 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Regulations (19 C.F.R. Part 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. § 1304.To provide a more seamless transition to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) for Canadian and Mexican traders, at this time, CBP continues to utilize the marking rules in 19 C.F.R. Part 102, with the exception of 19 C.F.R. § 102.19, for purposes of country of origin marking with respect to goods of those countries. Title 19, C.F.R. § 102.11(a) provides that the country of origin of a good is the country in which:The good is wholly obtained or produced;The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or (3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in § 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied. “Material” means a good that is incorporated into another good as a result of production with respect to that other good, and includes parts, ingredients, subassemblies, and components.” 19 C.F.R. § 102.1(l). “Foreign material” is defined in Section 102.1(e) as “a material whose country of origin as determined under these rules is not the same country as the country in which the good is produced.” The wiper blade is neither “wholly obtained or produced” nor “produced exclusively from domestic materials.” Therefore, paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) c