H345749

H345749 June 18, 2025 OT:RR:CTF:VS H345749 ACH 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 R980 Global Navigation Satellite System Receiver; Country of Origin Marking Dear Mr. McKenzie, This is in response to your February 3, 2025 request, on behalf of Trimble, Inc. (“Trimble”), for a final determination concerning the country of origin of the R980 Global Navigation Satellite System (“GNSS”) Receiver, 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. 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 R980 GNSS Receiver, which you describe as designed for “surveying and mapping in challenging environments.” The R980 GNSS Receiver consists of seven main components, which undergo final assembly into a chassis in Thailand: 1. Main Board Assembly, 2. Power Supply and Communications Board Assembly, 3. Antenna Element Assembly, 4. Radio Interface, 5. Antenna Low Noise Amplifier, 6. Battery subscriber identity model (“SIM”), and 7. 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 stated to be manufactured in the United States. 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 R980 GNSS 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 59 components assembled onto a bare circuit board with SMT. You also state that the power supply and communications board assembly is a PCBA with 593 components assembled onto a circuit board using SMT and includes all communication functions of the R980 GNSS 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 R980 GNSS device.” The low noise amplifier is assembled in Thailand and then shipped to the United States and built into the Antenna Element Assembly. Additionally, the battery SIM is 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 Finland. You provide no details about the production process of this component, but it has a higher cost than the materials from any other country. This radio is only available for R980 GNSS Receivers sold in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The final assembly operations occur in Thailand, involving the following steps: 1. The main board assembly, radio interface PCBA, power supply and communications PCBA, antenna assembly, and radio module are screwed onto a “hot box” with screws and then the “hot box” assembly is subject to functional testing. 2. A keypad is installed onto the chassis with glue and two screws. 3. The battery compartment floor, battery compartment, and battery SIM are assembled and affixed to the chassis with screws. 4. The “hot box” subassembly with the PCBAs and antenna element are affixed to the chassis. 5. The battery compartment door is installed to the outside of the chassis with two screws. 6. Various mechanical parts are installed into the chassis. 2 7. Four compliance labels, overlays and serial number labels are attached to the exterior of the chassis. 8. A series of functional tests are conducted (leak test; calibration confirmation; unit input/output testing; unit gyroscope testing). You claim that the R980 GNSS 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. This software will be flashed onto a memory component in the United States, which will then be assembled onto the main board PCBA by SMT in the United States. In total, you estimate that 70 percent of the R980 GNSS Receiver’s value is the result of this proprietary software. ISSUE: What is the country of origin of the R980 GNSS Receiver for the purposes of U.S. Government procurement and country of origin marking? 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 purpose 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 stems from 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 the Secretary of Homeland Security via Treasury Department Order (TO) 100-20 “Delegation of Customs revenue functions to 3 Homeland Security,” dated October 30, 2024, and are subject to further delegations to CBP (see also 19 CFR Part 177, subpart B). 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 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 CFR 25.403(c)(1). The FAR, 48 CFR 25.003, defines “U.S.-made end product” as: … an article that is mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States or that is

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 purpose 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 stems from 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 the Secretary of Homeland Security via Treasury Department Order (TO) 100-20 “Delegation of Customs revenue functions to 3 

Homeland Security,” dated October 30, 2024, and are subject to further delegations to CBP (see also 19 CFR Part 177, subpart B). 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 provisio