H348154

H348154 August 29, 2025 OT:RR:CTF:VSP H348154 ACH CATEGORY: Origin Ms. Suzanne Kane Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 2001 K Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20006-1037 Re: Country of Origin Marking of Smart Glasses; Section 301 Dear Ms. Kane: This is in response to your letter dated May 14, 2025, requesting a binding ruling on behalf of your client, [ ] concerning the country of origin of Smart Glasses for marking, and Section 301 duty purposes. Either [ ] or [ ] will act as the importer of record. You have requested that certain information submitted in connection with this request be treated as confidential. Inasmuch as this request conforms to the requirements of 19 C.F.R. § 177.2(b)(7), the request for confidentiality is approved. The information contained within brackets in this ruling or in the attachments to this ruling request, forwarded to our office, will not be released to the public and will be withheld from published versions of this ruling. FACTS: The glasses at issue are artificial intelligence (“AI”) Smart Glasses that offer users the opportunity to capture photos and videos, make video calls or livestream, store photos and videos, listen to music, make phone calls, send texts using voice commands, and ask questions and receive answers using AI. The Smart Glasses will have a front frame, right and left temple pieces, and two lenses. The lenses of the Smart Glasses will be available as prescription or non- prescription, depending on what the customer chooses. The customer has the option to select polarized or non-polarized sunglass lenses, transition, blue filter, or clear form lenses. The Smart Glasses are within the same product family as the smart glasses covered by Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) H345669, dated July 23, 2025. However, the instant glasses will include: a different type of battery (steel can) and corresponding adjustments to surrounding components, providing substantially longer battery life and enabling extended use of device features for users throughout the day; a privacy light-emitting diode (“LED”) and camera module that are no longer electrically coupled; and different signal routes within the main logic board (“MLB”) (though without a change to the components of the MLB). The Smart Glasses will be equipped with a [ ] chipset that is mounted to the MLB within the product. The Smart Glasses will incorporate a high-power main processing unit that handles heavy computing including photo and video processing, wireless communication, and AI functionalities; a microcontroller unit (“MCU”) that handles lower computing functionalities such as sensor processing, audio playback, and microphone capture; components that provide memory storage; and components that provide capacitive touch functionality, allowing users to interact with the Smart Glasses through touch gestures. All the above functions will be made possible by the chipset that is mounted on the MLB, which is responsible for the flow of data, power, and communication between the major components. The main components of the chipset include the applications processor, which handles instructions, manages memory, manages power, processes all multimedia (i.e., audio, video, and other data), and ensures that all parts and components are communicating with each other to ensure fully integrate operations, and the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip, which enables Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for the device. It is stated that the MLB drives the functioning of the Smart Glasses through visual and audio feedback from several other components, including: • The Secondary Logic Board (“SLB”). The SLB is an auxiliary PCBA that is responsible for enabling and amplifying the audio of the speaker on the right temple flexible printed circuit board. The SLB also contains an action button that allows the user to activate video or streaming. The SLB supports the communication capabilities of the Smart Glasses by enabling the speaker to perform key functions such as audio amplification and commence streaming and other features by engaging the action button. • Flexible Printed Circuit Assemblies (“FPCAs”). The FPCAs are responsible for connecting the different components of the Smart Glasses to each other and directly or indirectly to the MLB. The Superflex FPCA contains a microphone and connects to the MLB, camera, SLB, and charging contacts. The Camera FPCA contains the camera module and connects to the Superflex FPCA. The Right Temple FPCA contains two microphones, an integrated circuit (“IC”), and right speaker pads and connects to the SLB and the right temple speaker. The left temple FPCA contains two microphones and left speaker pads and connects to the MLB and the left speaker. The Slider FPCA contains a two-position switch and connects to the MLB. • A Camera. The camera is responsible for the photo and video capturing capabilities of the Smart Glasses. The main processing unit on the MLB processes data feedback from the camera sensor that is required to capture a picture. • Microphones. The microphones are responsible for the audio and voice capturing capabilities of the Smart Glasses. The main processing unit on the MLB computes voice and audio from the microphones that starts the activation of the AI. The processing unit on the MLB processes questions and inquiries by the user. Some requests must be fulfilled by servers (e.g., AI queries requiring more processing bandwidth). These are transmitted from the main processing unit to the user’s smartphone by wireless Bluetooth connectivity and then sent from the smartphone to backend servers for fulfillment and 2 response. AI’s response is then transferred back to the phone, where the main processing unit plays it out of the speaker. • Speakers. The speakers are responsible for the sound output of the Smart Glasses. The chipset on the MLB is critical to managing the input data and communicating with the other components so the user can access key device functionalities such as playing audio through the Speakers. • The Battery. The battery is responsible for storing energy that can be used to power the Smart Glasses. The chipset on the MLB ensures efficient energy usage as it controls the power management system of the battery. The battery incorporated into the Smart Glasses is a steel can battery. The finished MLB collects all audio and visual inputs from these components to provide the user experience, including playing audio, taking pictures, enabling touch/button control, accessing AI features, and connecting to a smartphone. The manufacturing steps for the Smart Glasses will occur in three main stages: (1) the production of individual components in ten to eleven countries; (2) the production of the main PCBA (i.e., the MLB) and the auxiliary PCBA (i.e., the SLB) in Vietnam by means of surface- mount technology (“SMT”); and (3) final assembly, final software uploads, testing, and packout (“FATP”) in China. Between 500 and 600 components are incorporated into the MLB, and between 10 and 20 components are incorporated into the SLB. SMT of the MLB and SLB requires several days of manufacturing training for line operators, and the assembly of both PCBAs takes several hours. The FATP process in China takes less than two hours and includes temple assemblies, main line assembly, testing, and packaging. Almost 50 percent of the components’ cost comes from Chinese-origin components, including the memory, mechanicals (frame, hinge, logo, nose pad, and buttons), camera, battery, flexes, audio, other electrical engineering components (“EE”), PCB, critical ICs, interconnect, and antenna. Over 30 percent of the components come from Taiwan, including other EE, chipset, memory, PCB, antenna, and critical ICs. All other countries provide less than 10 percent of the components’ cost percentage. While the bare PCBs account for less than one percent of the total bill of materials (“BOM”) cost, between 500 and 600 of the MLB components and between 10 and 20

(1) Country of Origin Marking The marking statute, Section 304(a), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 1304(a)), provides that unless excepted, “every article of foreign origin (or its container …) imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit in such manner as to indicate to an 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 imported goods the country of which the goods {are} 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.” United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940). Part 134 of Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. § 1304. 19 C.F.R. § 134.1(b) provides as follows: (b) Country of origin. “Country of origin” means 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}. The test for determining whether a substantial transformation occurs is whether an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use, different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. Texas Instruments Inc. v. United States, 681 F.2d 778 (CCPA 1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 Ct. Int’l Trade 308, 312 (1992), a