N355127

N355127 November 19, 2025 CLA-2-71:OT:RR:NC:N1:128 CATEGORY: Classification, Country of Origin, Marking, Trade Programs TARIFF NO.: 7112.91.0100, 9903.01.04, 9903.01.27, 9817.00.90 Laura Moya Nakachi Eckhardt & Jacobson, P.C. 50 California Street San Francisco, CA 94111 RE: The tariff classification, country of origin, marking, and eligibility of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) of gold waste and scrap Dear Ms. Moya: In your letter dated October 22, 2025, you requested a ruling on on behalf of your client, Sunrise Jewelry Manufacturing Corporation, for the tariff classification, country of origin for marking purposes, and eligibility of merchandise under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The merchandise under consideration is described as gold waste and scrap. From the information provided, 99.99% by weight unwrought gold in the form of grain from the United States is shipped to Mexico. In Mexico, the gold is mixed with alloys and cast into a wax tree mold shaped to replicate the final jewelry design. Once the metal has cooled, each piece is removed from the casting tree using a hand-held cutter; these pieces are then processed into jewelry and polished. The excess materials from this cutting process, as well as the dust created by polishing the finished jewelry, are collected and exported to the United States, where they are refined to recover the gold they contain. In your ruling request you suggest classification of the dust containing gold in 7112.30.0100, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), as ash containing precious metal or precious metal compounds. However, ash is created by the incineration of materials. The waste at issue is created by the application of an abrasive to the finished jewelry, resulting in dust which contains gold. Classification in 7112.30.0100, HTSUS, is precluded. The applicable subheading for the gold waste and scrap will be 7112.91.0100, HTSUS, which provides for “Waste and scrap of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal; other waste and scrap containing precious metal or precious metal compounds, of a kind used principally for the recovery of precious metal other than goods of heading 8549: Other: Of gold, including metal clad with gold but excluding sweepings containing other precious metals.” The general rate of duty will be Free. In your ruling request you suggest that the country of origin of the gold waste and scrap is the United States, stating that there is no substantial transformation in Mexico. Section 134.1(b) of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)) provides that the “[c]ountry 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 Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134). Substantial transformation requires that “[t]here must be a transformation; a new and different article must emerge, ‘having distinctive name, character, or use.’” Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association v. United States, 207 U.S. 556, 28 S. Ct 204 (1908). With regards to the waste and scrap at issue, unwrought gold grain consisting of 99.9% gold by weight from the United States is shipped to Mexico. In Mexico, the gold grain is alloyed with base metals, melted, and cast into identifiable jewelry components. This results in new and different articles which have a distinctive name, character and use from the unwrought gold grain. As the goods are substantially transformed in Mexico, the country of origin of waste and scrap collected from those goods is Mexico. Regarding country of origin marking, the marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. 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 U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. The “country of origin” is defined in 19 CFR 134.1(b) 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 this part; however, for a good of a NAFTA or USMCA country, the marking rules set forth in part 102 of this chapter (hereinafter referred to as the part 102 Rules) will determine the country of origin.” Pursuant to section 102.0, interim regulations, related to the marking rules, tariff-rate quotas, and other USMCA provisions, published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2021 (86 FR 35566), the rules set forth in §§ 102.1 through 102.18 and 102.20 determine the country of origin for marking purposes with respect to goods imported from Canada and Mexico. Section 102.11 provides a required hierarchy for determining the country of origin of a good for marking purposes, with the exception of textile goods which are subject to the provisions of 19 C.F.R. § 102.21. See 19 C.F.R. § 102.11. Applied in sequential order, 19 CFR § 102.11(a) provides that the country of origin of a good is the country in which: (1) The good is wholly obtained or produced; (2) The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or (3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in Part 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied. 19 CFR § 102.1(g) states, in pertinent part, that “A good ‘wholly obtained or produced’ in a country means…waste a scrap derived from: production in a country, or used goods collected in that country provided such goods are fit only for the recovery of raw materials.” The waste and scrap at issue is derived from production in Mexico. It is therefore considered wholly obtained or produced in Mexico under 19 CFR § 102.11(a)(1). As such, the country of origin of the waste and scrap for marking purposes is Mexico. In your ruling request you ask if this waste and scrap is eligible for duty-free treatment under the USMCA. The USMCA was signed by the Governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada on November 30, 2018. The USMCA was approved by the U.S. Congress with the enactment on January 29, 2020, of the USMCA Implementation Act, Pub. L. 116-113, 134 Stat. 11, 14 (19 U.S.C. § 4511(a)). General Note (GN) 11 of the HTSUS implements the USMCA. GN 11(b) sets forth the criteria for determining whether a good is an originating good for purposes of the USMCA. GN 11(b) states: For the purposes of this note, a good imported into the customs territory of the United States from the territory of a USMCA country, as defined in subdivision (l) of this note, is eligible for the preferential tariff treatment provided for in the applicable subheading and quantitative limitations set forth in the tariff schedule as a “good originating in the territory of a USMCA country” only if- (i) the good is a good wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries; (ii) the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries, exclusively from originating materials; (iii) the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries using non-originating materials, if the good satisfies all applicable requirements set forth in this note (including the provisions of subdivision (o)) The waste and scrap at issue is produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries under GN 11(b)(i). It is t

set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by CBP. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border Protection 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, please contact National Import Specialist Nicole Sullivan at nicole.d.sullivan@cbp.dhs.gov. 
Sincerely,
 (for) Deborah Marinucci Designated Official Performing the Duties of the Division Director National Commodity Specialist Division