H338116

 HQ H338116 June 4, 2024 OT:RR:CTF:VS H338116 ME CATEGORY: Origin John McKenzie Baker & McKenzie LLP Two Embarcadero Center, 11th Floor San Francisco, CA 94111-3802 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 Global Navigation Satellite System R12i Receivers; Country of Origin Marking 134.32(d); 19 CFR 134.32(m). Dear Mr. McKenzie, This is in response to your March 1, 2024 request, on behalf of Trimble, Inc. (“Trimble”), for a final determination concerning the country of origin of certain Global Navigation Satellite System (“GNSS”) R12i Receivers, 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 CFR 177.21, et seq.). Trimble is a party-at-interest within the meaning of 19 CFR 177.22(d)(1) and 177.23(a) and is therefore entitled to request this final determination. You also requested a determination on whether the product is exempt from country of origin marking requirements under Section 134.32(m) of the CBP Regulations (19 CFR 134.32(m)). FACTS: Trimble is a Delaware corporation based in Colorado, specializing in the production and design of industrial technology for the agricultural, construction, and geospatial transportation industries. At issue in this case is the GNSS R12i Receiver, which you describe as designed for “surveying and mapping in challenging environments.” You state that the GNSS R12i Receiver consists of seven primary components, which undergo final assembly into a chassis in Thailand: Main Board Assembly Power Supply and Communications Board Assembly Antenna Element Assembly Radio Interface Antenna Low Noise Amplifier Battery SIM 450MHz Radio Four of these components, the main board assembly, the power supply and communications board assembly, the antenna element assembly, and the radio interface are manufactured in the United States. Notably, you characterize three of these U.S.-origin components as Printed Circuit Board Assemblies (“PCBAs”). You state that the main board assembly is the primary PCBA, which provides the “essential character” of the GNSS R12i Receiver, including the central processing unit (“CPU”), random access memory (“RAM”), Flash memory module, RF processor, baseband processer, and Global Positioning System (“GPS”) Components. These components are assembled onto the board using Surface Mount Technology (“SMT”) in the United States. You additionally state that the Radio Interface is a separate PCBA with 74 components assembled onto the bare circuit board with SMT. You also state that the power supply and communications board assembly is a PCBA with 526 components assembled onto a circuit board using SMT and includes all communications functions of the GNSS R12i Receiver. Two of the main components, the antenna low noise amplifier and battery SIM, are produced in Thailand. You state that these “perform subsidiary roles with respect to the GNSS R12i device.” You describe the antenna low noise amplifier as a PCBA with 142 components assembled onto a bare printed circuit board using SMT, which is then shipped to the United States and built into the Antenna Element Assembly. Additionally, you describe the battery SIM as a PCBA produced by assembling five components onto a bare printed circuit board. The final main component is a 450MHz Radio, which is produced in China. This component is optional; however, you have included it for the purpose of determining the country of origin of the GNSS R12i Receiver. You provide no details about the production process of this component. You describe the final assembly operations in Thailand as “simple assembly,” consisting “primarily of inserting and fastening [PCBAs] into a chassis.” The final assembly includes the following steps: The primary PCBA, radio interface PCBA, and communications and power supply PCBA are screwed onto a “hot box” subassembly by fastening with two to three screws. They are then subject to a series of sensor tests. The antenna assembly is fastened to the “hot box” with two screws, the radio module is installed onto the “hot box” with four screws, and then the “hot box” assembly is subject to a series of signal tests. The keypad is installed onto the chassis with glue and two screws. The battery compartment floor, and battery compartment are assembled and affixed to the chassis with two and four screws respectively. The battery SIM is attached to the chassis with four screws. The “hot box” subassembly with the PCBAs and antenna element are affixed to the chassis with four screws. The battery compartment door is installed to the outside of the chassis with two screws. Various mechanical parts are installed into the chassis. Four compliance labels, overlays and serial number labels are attached to the exterior of the chassis. A series of functional tests are conducted (Leak Test; Calibration Confirmation; Unit input/output Testing; Unit Gyroscope Testing). On top of this, you state that various subcomponents are used at all stages to produce the main components of the GNSS R12i Receiver. You also state that small mechanical parts and additional subcomponents are added to the product during final assembly. For all these subcomponents, you provide charts showing that the parts originate from over 20 different countries, and you state that no “single country predominates as the source country.” We note that several of these “subcomponents” cost more than items which you have designated as “primary components.” However, the most expensive subcomponents largely relate to GNSS R12i Receiver’s outer shell and are not central to the device’s functionality. Furthermore, you state that the GNSS R12i Receiver would not be functional without Trimble’s proprietary software. You estimate that software development “involved more than 1 million developer hours,” and that 67 percent of the code was written by developers in the United States and 33 percent by developers in Germany. You state that this proprietary software has further undergone “software build” in the United States, where it was compiled from its constituent source code into machine readable binaries. You state that this software will be flashed onto a memory component in the United States and assembled onto the primary PCBA as part of the manufacturing process. In total, you estimate that 70 percent of the GNSS R12i Receiver’s value is the result of this proprietary software. ISSUES: What is the country of origin of the GNSS R12i Receiver for the purposes of U.S. Government procurement? Is the GNSS R12i Receiver excepted from country of origin marking requirements under 19 CFR 134.32(m)? LAW AND ANALYSIS: Country of Origin Determination 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 CFR 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 CFR Part 0 - Treasury Department Order No. 100-16, 68 Fed. Reg. 28,322 (May 23, 20

Country of Origin DeterminationCBP 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 CFR 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 CFR 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 CFR 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 CFR 177.21. In this regard, CBP recognizes th