H342414

HQ H342414 January 27, 2025 OT:RR:CTF:VS H342414 JH CATEGORY: Origin Cheryl Wynn Customs Manager 100 Mission Ridge Goodlettsville, TN 37072 RE: Accent Touch Lamp; Country of Origin; Substantial Transformation; Generalized System of Preferences Dear Ms. Wynn, This is in response to your September 24, 2024 ruling request, filed on behalf of Dollar General (the “importer”), regarding: (1) the country of origin of a certain accent touch lamp (“Lamp”), and (2) the eligibility of the merchandise for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (“GSP”) when imported into the United States from Cambodia. FACTS: The merchandise at issue is an accent touch lamp used for household purposes. The lamps will be manufactured in Cambodia with parts imported from China and sourced locally in Cambodia. For purposes of this ruling request, we will assume that the locally sourced parts will be of Cambodian origin. A complete listing of the components with photographs was submitted with your request. The provided manufacturing process scenario shows that the lamp base, midsection and the lampshade are made in Cambodia, and the lamp head (E26 plastic socket), tube for the metal neck, touch switch, and power cord are sourced from China. The manufacturing process includes the following: Cutting, attaching, and welding the fabric to the lamp wire to create the lamp shade which includes: Shaping the adhesive fabric to a round shape Cutting iron wire to size for the lamp frame Welding iron wire to join shade frame and top ring Welding iron wire to join shade frame to bottom ring Powder coating shade frames in white Sewing and attaching fabric and shade’s iron frame together Machine sawing and shaping the metal to make the midsection and the lamp base, including: Machine sawing and shaping the metal materials for screws, threaded pipe, and metal neck Vacuum metalizing the metal neck and metal panel to gold color Cutting to shape the material for the metal lamp base and panel Machine shaping the lamp base Powder coating the lamp base Assembly, packing, and labeling of product in production line When assembled, the lamp is directly imported to the United States from Cambodia and is classifiable under subheading 9405.29.60 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (“HTSUS”). ISSUES: What is the country of origin of the accent touch lamp? Whether the accent touch lamp qualifies for the duty exemption under the GSP when imported from Cambodia into the U.S.? LAW AND ANALYSIS: Country of Origin of the Accent Touch Lamp Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 1304), provides that unless excepted, every article of foreign origin 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. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. § 1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will.” See United States v. Friedlander & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940). Part 134 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. § 1304. Section 134.1(b), CBP Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” as “the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the country of origin within the meaning of [the marking laws and regulations].” A substantial transformation occurs when, as a result of manufacturing process, a new and different article emerges, having a distinct name, character or use, which is different from that originally possessed by the article or material before being subjected to the manufacturing process. See United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940); Texas Instruments, Inc. v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 142, 681 F.2d 778 (1982). However, if the manufacturing or combining process is merely a minor one that leaves the identity of the article intact, a substantial transformation has not occurred. Uniroyal, Inc. v. United States, 3 CIT 220, 542 F. Supp. 1026, 1029 (1982) aff’d, 702 F.2d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 1983). In Headquarter Ruling (“HQ”) H311970, dated Oct. 14, 2020, CBP ruled that a manufacturing process that produced a mixed greenery wreath with gold leaves in Cambodia with local material and imported material from China, was more than a minor assembly process and resulted in a substantial transformation. The materials from China included polyvinylchloride (“PVC”) sheets on rolls, PVC pine needles, polyethylene (“PE”) pellets, galvanized iron wire, epoxy resin, black iron wire, natural pinecones, and a battery-operated LED light set, and the remaining materials from Cambodia included gold paint, flexo print packing, and a brown master carton. The processing included cutting, shaping, welding, attaching, and binding to produce the final article. In that ruling, CBP noted how the various configurations and attachments caused the individual materials to lose their identity and became integral pieces of the finished product. See also HQ 562558, dated Dec. 31, 2002 (noted that the assembly of a lamp qualified as a substantial transformation) In this case, the manufacturing process includes cutting and welding the wires and sewing and attaching fabric to the iron wire frame to make the lampshade. Further, the process includes machine sawing and shaping (including the vacuum metalizing and power coating) the metal to make the midsection and the lamp base. Through this process, the materials are configured and altered and lose their individual identities as we see in HQ 562558 and HQ H311970, to then become integral parts of the finished article. Accordingly, we find that the components have undergone more than a minor assembly process and that they will be substantially transformed in Cambodia. Accordingly, the country of origin of the lamp for marking purposes will be Cambodia. GSP Eligibility of the Accent Lamp imported from Cambodia Under the GSP, eligible articles, which are the growth, product, or manufacture of a designated beneficiary developing country (“BDC”) and are imported directly into the customs territory of the U.S. from a BDC, may receive duty-free treatment if the sum of: (1) the cost or value of materials produced in the BDC, plus (2) the direct costs of the processing operations performed in the BDC, is equivalent to at least 35 percent of the appraised value of the article at the time of entry into the U.S. See 19 U.S.C. § 2463(a)(2)(A). Pursuant to General Note (“GN”) 4(a), HTSUS, Cambodia is a designated BDC for GSP purposes and may be afforded preferential tariff treatment if the imported accent lamp is classified in a GSP-eligible provision containing SPI Code A. The accent lamp imported from Cambodia is classified under subheading 9405.29.60, HTSUS, which is a GSP eligible provision. The first issue is whether the accent lamp is a “product of” Cambodia. To receive duty-free treatment under the GSP, an article must be a “product of” the BDC. A good is considered to be a “product of” a BDC if it is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of a BDC, or has been substantially transformed in the BDC into a new or different article of commerce. See 19 U.S.C. § 2463(a)(3); 19 C.F.R. § 10.176(a). As determined

Country of Origin of the Accent Touch LampSection 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 1304), provides that unless excepted, every article of foreign origin 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. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. § 1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will.” See United States v. Friedlander & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940).Part 134 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. § 1304. Section 134.1(b), CBP Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” as “the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the country of origin within the meaning of [the marking laws and regulations].” A substantial transformation occurs when, as a result of manufacturing process, a new and different article emerges, having a distinct name, character or use, which is different from that originally possessed by the article or material before being subjected to the manufacturing process. See United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940); Texas Instruments, Inc. v. United States