H342702

H342702 May 16, 2025 OT:RR:CTF:VS H342702 JH CATEGORY: Origin Davis Lau Account Manager Mastercraft International Limited Hunghim Commercial Unit 503, 5th Floor. Tower B Hong Kong, N/A 999077 China RE: Accent Lamps; Country of Origin; Substantial Transformation; Generalized System of Preferences Dear Mr. Lau, This is in response to your October 28, 2024 ruling request, filed on behalf of Old East Main Company (the “importer”), regarding: (1) the country of origin of accent lamps (“Lamp”), and (2) the eligibility of the lamps for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (“GSP”) when imported into the United States from Cambodia. FACTS: This ruling request involves three accent lamps that are intended to be used for household purposes: SKU# 40504601, SKU# 40505601, and SKU# 40505501. The lamps will be manufactured in Cambodia with parts imported from China, and parts 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 list of the components with photographs for each lamp were submitted with your request. The provided manufacturing process for the lamp with SKU# 40504601 shows that the shade fabric, shade iron wire frame, screws, plastic neck, felt pad, PE protection bag, and label are made in Cambodia, and the ceramic body, E26 plastic socket, and cord are sourced from China. The other two lamps (SKU# 40505601 and SKU# 40505501) have the same materials with the same origins as the ceramic lamp (SKU# 40504601), except that instead of a ceramic body, they have a polyresin body that is made in Cambodia. The manufacturing process in Cambodia for all lamps to create lamp shades includes: o Cutting shade fabric to shape, o Joining the adhesive fabric of the shade, o Cutting iron wire to size for the lamp frame, o Welding iron wire to join shade frame and top ring, Welding iron wire to join shade frame to bottom ring, ooo Electroplating top ring, and Sewing and attaching fabric and shade’s iron frame together. In addition to creating the lamp shade, the manufacturing process in Cambodia for the ceramic lamp involves machine sawing some of the metal materials; vacuum metalizing the plastic neck, decorative parts, and screws; hand painting the plastic neck; and assembling the parts to complete the lamp. The manufacturing process in Cambodia for lamps SKU# 40505601 and SKU# 40505501 is the same as the ceramic lamp, except that polyresin material is used to mold the lamp body. When assembled, the lamps are directly imported to the United States from Cambodia and are classifiable under subheading 9405.29.801 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). ISSUES: 1. What is the country of origin of the accent lamps? 2. Whether the accent lamps qualify for the duty exemption under the GSP when imported from Cambodia into the U.S.? LAW AND ANALYSIS: Country of Origin of Accent Lamps 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 1 Subheading 9405.29.8010, HTSUS, provides for “Luminaries and lighting fittings including searchlights and searchlights and spotlights and parts thereof, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated nameplates and the like, having a permanently fixed light source, and parts thereof not elsewhere specified or included: Other: Household” 2 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”) 562558, dated December 21, 2002, CBP ruled that a manufacturing process that produced Rattan Road electric lamps in the United States with domestic materials and foreign materials from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Philippines, resulted in a substantial transformation of the imported parts. Although the requestor did not submit a written description of the assembly process for the lamp, CBP recognized that the process of assembling a lamp, which typically includes joining, gluing, and soldering parts, constitutes a substantial transformation. In HQ 562558, CBP distinguished its decision from another ruling, HQ 734503 dated July 20, 1992, where a cut crystal piece of an electrical lamp imparted the essential character of the lamp. As no single component in the lamps under consideration in HQ 562558 imparted the essential character, the assembled on the various parts was a substantial transformation. See also HQ H311970, dated October 14, 2020 (CBP found that a manufacturing process that produced a mixed greenery wreath resulted in a substantial transformation.) SKU# 40504601 Regarding lamp SKU# 40504601, the component that imparts the character of the lamp (the ceramic body), is imported into Cambodia and it does not undergo any processing and maintains its integrity throughout the assembly process. The ceramic body is by far the most expensive part of the lamp, and it is likely what a consumer would consider in its purchasing decision of the lamp. Therefore, similar to HQ 734503, as the ceramic body is imported and the overall assembly process is not exceedingly 3 complex, we do not find that a substantial transformation occurs in Cambodia. Thus, the country of origin of the lamp for marking purposes will be the same as the ceramic body which is China. SKU# 40505601 However, for the lamp with SKU# 40505601, in addition to creating the lamp shade through cutting, sewing, attaching, electro-plating, joining, and welding, the lamp body is created through the molding of the imported polyresin material in Cambodia. Additionally in the lamp assembly, other components undergo machine sawing and shaping. None of the components, before undergoing the manufacturing and assembly process, impart the character of the lamp individually. Therefore, consistent with HQ 562558, we find that the material for lamp SKU# 40505601 does undergo a

Country of Origin of Accent Lamps 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 1 Subheading 9405.29.8010, HTSUS, provides for “Luminaries and lighting fittings including searchlights and searchlights and spotlights and parts thereof, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated nameplates and the like, having a permanently fixed light source, and parts thereof not elsewhere specified or included: Other: Household” 2 

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