COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS

N034858 August 14, 2008 MAR-2 OT:RR:E:NC:N1:109 CATEGORY: MARKING Mr. M. Jason Cunningham Attorney Sonnenberg & Anderson 300 South Wacker Drive Suite 1050 Chicago, IL 60606 RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS Dear Mr. Cunningham: This is in response to your letter dated August 4, 2008, which you filed on behalf of your client, ReMapp International Corporation. In your letter, you requested a ruling on the country of origin marking requirements for printed circuit boards that your client intends to import. You also raised the question as to whether the importer, ReMapp International Corporation, would be considered the ultimate purchaser of the imported printed circuit boards. It is explained in your letter that ReMapp International Corporation will import printed circuit boards from Taiwan. The printed circuit boards themselves will not be marked, but will be shipped into the United States in bulk and the outer containers that ReMapp International Corporation will receive will be clearly marked with their Taiwanese origin. Your letter states that ReMapp International Corporation will import four types of printed circuit boards (PCBs). They are a switch board, an LED board, a microprocessor board, and a power board. After importation into the United States, the following assembly and programming processes will be performed by ReMapp International Corporation to the printed circuit boards: Installation of the microprocessor to the microprocessor printed circuit board Programming of the microprocessor with proprietary firmware Attaching various types of male and female connection pins to the microprocessor printed circuit board and power printed circuit board Assembly of the programmed microprocessor printed circuit board and power printed circuit board into an “LED engine”, which is capable of controlling the type and brightness of light and infrared emission by the LED board (based not only upon the various user modes contained within the firmware program, but also based upon the firmware’s assessment of the type of battery inserted into the final product and the amount of charge remaining in that battery.) Assembling the switch to the imported switch printed circuit board Attaching various types of male and female connection pins to the switch printed circuit board and LED printed circuit board then assembling them together into an LED array Combining the programmed LED engine and LED array together for resale as a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) light and infrared emission and control system (dedicated for use in a specific LED based battery operated portable illuminator and infrared detection system.) 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. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), mandates that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. must be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. Section 134.1(d), defines the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. 19 C.F.R. 134.1(d)(1) states that if an imported article will be used in manufacture, the manufacturer may be the ultimate purchaser if he subjects the imported article to a process which results in a substantial transformation of the article. The case of U.S. v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940), provides that an article used in manufacture which results in an article having a name, character or use differing from that of the constituent article will be considered substantially transformed, and that the manufacturer or processor will be considered the ultimate purchaser of the constituent materials. In such circumstances, the imported article is excepted from marking and only the outermost container is required to be marked. See 19 C.F.R. 134.35. In this case, ReMapp International Corporation is the ultimate purchaser because it subjects the imported printed circuit boards to a process in the United States that substantially transforms them into an article having a different use and character than that of the imported article. Pursuant to 19 C.F.R. 134.35 (a), the imported article itself would be exempt from marking upon importation into the United States. An article is excepted from marking under 19 U.S.C. 1304 (a)(3)(D) and section 134.32(d), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.32(d)), if the marking of a container of such article will reasonably indicate the origin of such article. Accordingly, if Customs is satisfied that the article will remain in its container until it reaches the ultimate purchaser and if the ultimate purchaser can tell the country of origin of the printed circuit boards by viewing the container in which they are packaged, the individual printed circuit boards would be excepted from marking under 19 U.S.C. 1304 (a)(3)(D) and 19 CFR 134.32(d). Accordingly, marking the container in which the printed circuit boards are imported and sold to the ultimate purchaser is an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported printed circuit boards, provided the port director is satisfied that the articles will remain in the marked container until it reaches the ultimate purchaser. As such, only the outermost container in which the printed circuit boards are imported must be marked to indicate Taiwan as the country of origin. Therefore, marking the outer containers “Made in Taiwan” is an acceptable country of origin marking. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 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 Linda M. Hackett at (646) 733-3015. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division