N313406

N313406 July 24, 2020 CLA-2-82:OT:RR:NC:N1:118 CATEGORY: Country of Origin Mr. Andrew Bisbas Lowenstein Sandler LLP 2200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20037 RE: The country of origin of an adjustable wrench. Correction to Ruling Number N313163 Dear Mr. Bisbas: This replaces Ruling Number N313163, dated July 21, 2020, which contained a clerical error. The product, an adjustable wrench, was incorrectly named in one paragraph. A complete corrected ruling follows. In your letter dated July 13, 2020, you requested a country of origin ruling on behalf of your client, Tractor Supply Company. The imported article is an adjustable wrench that is comprised of four components produced in two countries, South Korea and China. These components include the wrench body, adjustable jaw, knurl, and pin. The adjustable wrench will be made using steel bars sourced from China. The steel bars will be shipped to South Korea, where they will be forged into the final shape and form of the wrench body and adjustable jaw. These two parts are then shipped to China where each is machined, polished and heat-treated. This includes milling groves into the jaw and punching a hole into the body. Next, the body and adjustable jaw are assembled with a Chinese-origin knurl and pin. Finally, the adjustable wrench is packaged and shipped to the United States. With regard to your request for the appropriate country of origin of the adjustable wrench, 19 C.F.R. § 134.1(b) provides in pertinent part as follows: 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 this part; The test for determining whether a substantial transformation will occur 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. See Texas Instruments Inc. v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 151 (1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See Nat’l Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 C.I.T. 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993). In order to determine whether a substantial transformation occurs when components of various origins are assembled into completed products, all factors such as the components used to create the product and manufacturing processes that these components undergo are considered in order to determine whether a product with a new name, character, and use has been produced. No one factor is decisive, and minimal assembly operations will generally not result in a substantial transformation. In regards to the finished adjustable wrench, we find that the processes and assembly operations performed in China do not constitute a substantial transformation of the wrench body and adjustable jaw that were manufactured in South Korea. These articles provide the essential characteristics of the finished wrench, are dedicated for use as such and cannot be used for any other purpose. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the finished adjustable wrench described in your proposed production-processing scenario is country of origin South Korea. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. § 177). A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Anthony E. Grossi at anthony.e.grossi@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division