H331939

HQ H331939 June 27, 2024 OT:RR:CTF:VS H331939 AMW CATEGORY: Origin Sammy Hsieh Aegis Multimedia Inc. 2F, No. 21, LN 48 Guangming St., Tucheng Dist. New Taipei, 236, Taiwan 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 DisplayPort Male to Female Adapter Dear Mr. Hsieh: This is in response to your request, dated May 1, 2023, for a final determination concerning the country of origin of a video graphics array adapter 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 C.F.R. § 177.21, et seq.). Your request, submitted as an electronic ruling request, was forwarded to this office from the National Commodity Specialist Division for response. Aegis Multimedia Inc. (“Aegis”) is a party-at-interest within the meaning of 19 C.F.R. § 177.22(d)(1) and 177.23(a) and is therefore entitled to request this final determination. FACTS: Aegis imports a “DisplayPort male to female adapter”, which is an eight-inch-long video converter. The adapter is used to connect a desktop or laptop computer with a video graphics array (“VGA”) compliant monitor or television, converting signals transmitted between the computer and the monitor. You state that the adapter has one DisplayPort male connector (source signal input), one printed circuit board assembly attached to a VGA female connector (PCBA/signal output), and one eight-inch-long cable. The adapter manufacturing process consists of two phases: (1) printed circuit board assembly (“PCBA”) production in Taiwan, and (2) final assembly in China. Phase One - PCBA Production (Taiwan) The PCBA is manufactured using surface mount technology (“SMT”) in which various components are affixed to a Taiwanese-origin circuit board: Solder paste is applied to a bare circuit board. The stainless-steel foil of the bare circuit board is laser cut to form openings in the board for the size and location of each surface mount component at which point solder paste is applied. A high-speed chip mounter is used to place smaller and lighter components (e.g., small resistors, capacitors, and inductors) onto the circuit board. A slow-speed chip mounter is used to place larger and heavier components (e.g., ball grid array (“BGA”) chip, flash, and connectors) onto the circuit board. The unfinished circuit board is placed in a reflow oven, which melts the previously applied solder paste to form a non-metallic compound between the above-mentioned parts and the bare circuit board. The PCBA is placed in an automated optical inspection (“AOI”) device to be scanned to catastrophic failure and quality defects. The PCBA is combined with the VGA female connector and soldered together by hand. After the PCBA and VGA connector are completed, the devices are placed in a plastic tray for packaging and shipment to Aegis’s China facility. Phase Two - Final Assembly (China) The Chinese-origin components are assembled with the Taiwanese-origin PCBA/VGA female connector assembly at the manufacturer’s plant. The final assembly occurs over the following 13 stages: Flash programming software is downloaded onto the PCBA; Eight-inch cable is prepared and checked for quantity of cables; Visual inspection of eight-inch cable is conducted; Wire insulation is stripped using a stripping machine; the wire is cut to proper length for use as a connector cable; and, the wire’s copper conductor is placed in tin stove to cover surface with tin; Top and bottom sides of the PCBA are soldered to the wiring; Initial PCBA function testing and visual inspection of video quality is conducted; A metal shell for the VGA female adapter is assembled and the PCBA is fitted into this shell; The VGA female adapter’s metal shell is placed into a molding machine and a polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”) “strain relief” component is applied to the base of the metal casing; Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (“ABS”) bottom and top shells are assembled for the DisplayPort male connector, placed over the metal shell, and punched to stamp the complete shell together; Final PCBA function testing is conducted; Visual inspection of video quality is conducted; An ABS shell for the VGA female connector is placed over the metal shell assembled in step 7 and stamped together; and The completed adapters are packaged in a zip bag and carton for shipment. You state that the PCBA is used to convert the DisplayPort++ signal into a VGA signal, which allows a VGA monitor to use the DisplayPort signal transmitted from a desktop or laptop via the adapter. The PCBA also contains a “flash” software program, which you state will detect whether the DisplayPort++ signal is acceptable. If the signal is acceptable, the software will notify the chipset that it can convert the DisplayPort++ signal to a VGA signal. ISSUES: What is the country of origin of the DisplayPort male to female adapter for purposes of U.S. Government procurement? What is the proper country of origin marking of the imported DisplayPort male to female adapter? LAW AND ANALYSIS: Government Procurement 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. §§ 177.21-177.31, 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 C.F.R. Part 0 - Treasury Department Order No. 100-16, 68 Fed. Reg. 28, 322 (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 C.F.R. § 177.22(a). In rendering advisory rulings and final determinations for purposes of U.S. Government procurement, CBP applies the provisions of subpart B of Part 177 consistent with the Federal Procurement Regulation (“FAR”). See 19 C.F.R. § 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 C.F.R. § 25.403(c)(1). The FAR, 48 C.F.R. § 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 “WTO GPA country end product” as an article that: Is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of a WTO GPA country; or In the case of an article that consists in whole or in part of materials from another country, has been substantially transformed in a WTO GPA country into a new and

Government ProcurementCBP 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. §§ 177.21-177.31, 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 C.F.R. Part 0 - Treasury Department Order No. 100-16, 68 Fed. Reg. 28, 322 (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 C.F.R. § 177.22(a). In rendering advisory rulings and final determinations for purposes of U.S. Government procurement, CBP applies the provisions of subpart B of Part 177 consistent with the Federal Procurement Regulation (“FAR”). See 19 C.F.R. § 177.21. In this regard, C