The country of origin marking requirements for caps, fittings and pins from China.

NY A81232 March 15, 1996 MAR-2-05:RR:NC:GI:115 A81232 CATEGORY: Marking Mr. Manny Sharma UPF, Inc. P.O. Box 321 Marlboro, NJ 07746 RE: The country of origin marking requirements for caps, fittings and pins from China. Dear Mr. Sharma: In your letter dated March 6, 1996, you requested a ruling on the country of origin marking requirements for castings. The subject items are described as follows: Part #021-1007 - Suspension Cap Part #021-1009 - Socket Type Cap Part #021-1005 - Clevis Type Cap Part #85500 - Clevis Fitting for Polymer Insulator Part #85505 - Eye Fitting for Polymer Insulator Part #031-1004 - Suspension Pin Part #031-1003 - Suspension Pin The caps and fittings are made of malleable iron. The pins are made of forged steel. These small parts will be sold to our customers in wooden crates clearly marked Made in China. Our customers are processors of these parts into finished goods of commerce. The processing includes assembling and machining. Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304) provides in general that any article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the United States must be marked conspicuously, indelibly, legibly and as permanently as the nature of the article will permit in such manner as to indicate the country of origin to the ultimate purchaser in the United States. An ultimate purchaser is defined in Section 134.1(d) of the Customs Regulations, as "the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported". The regulation further provides that if the imported article will be used in manufacture, the manufacturer may be the ultimate purchaser if he subjects the article to a process which results in a substantial transformation. Section 134.35, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.35), implementing the principle of U.S. v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98), provides that an article used in the U.S. in manufacture which results in an article having a name, character, or use differing from that of the imported article will be considered substantially transformed, and therefore the manufacturer or processor in the U.S. who converts or combines the imported article will be considered the ultimate purchaser of the imported article within the contemplation of 19 U.S.C. 1304(a). Accordingly, the caps, fittings, and pins shall be excepted from marking. However, in accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1304(b) and 134.22 Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.22), the outermost container of the imported article shall be marked Made in China. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction. Sincerely, Roger J. Silvestri Area Director National Commodity Specialist Division