THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF TIGER TRUCKS ASSEMBLED IN THE UNITED STATES

N041781 October 23, 2008 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N1:101 CATEGORY: MARKING Daniel J. Gluck Simon Gluck & Kane LLP 1700 Broadway, 31st Floor New York, NY 10019-5905 RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF TIGER TRUCKS ASSEMBLED IN THE UNITED STATES Dear Mr. Gluck: This is in response to your letter dated October 14, 2008 requesting a ruling on whether the manufacturing and assembling done in the United States is sufficient to entitle the Tiger Truck to be considered a product if the United States. The items concerned are several models of light off-road utility vehicles, both fuel-powered and electric-powered, manufactured and assembled by Tiger Truck, LLC in its facilities located in Poteau, Oklahoma; the models are the Tiger Star, the Tiger Crew Cab, the Tiger X-Cab, the Tiger Star Van, the Tiger Star Cargo Van, the Tiger Star Volume Van, the Tiger Champ 4500 Standard and the Tiger Champ 4500 Crew Cab. You state in your ruling request that the work done in Poteau goes beyond simple assembling and, instead, involves numerous processes and operations which are akin to the sophisticated assembly operations used in the automotive industry. You state that the manufacturing operations consist of, but are not limited to, machining operations such welding, brazing, coating, shaping and cutting of component parts. There are few differences, as explained in your request, in the manufacture of the fuel-powered vehicles and the electric-powered ones. In your request, you explain, in detail, the manufacturing processes undertaken to produce a Tiger Truck. You state that the vehicles are initially assembled into various sub-assemblies that will form the cab, bed, frame, drivetrain and seating. Final assembly takes place on a moving “race track” with special overhead cranes and assembly fixtures that are used for final assembling. Because a great number of sub-assemblies will have varying shapes and sizes, special handling carts are used to move the parts and sub-assemblies to the final assembly line staging areas. Finally, you state that the actual final assembly process involves twenty-two (22) different operations. Because of the substantial transformation which occurs during the manufacturing and assembling of the Tiger Truck from various components acquired both domestically and abroad, the final vehicle can be considered, for the purpose of country of origin, to be a Product of the United States. The holding 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 19 CFR 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in connection with the ruling request and incorporated therein, either directly, by reference or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. If a good is determined to be an article of U.S. origin, it is not subject to the country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. §1304. Whether an article may be marked with the phrase “Made in the USA” or similar words denoting U.S. origin, is an issue under the authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). We suggest that you contact the FTC Division of Enforcement, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580 on the propriety of proposed markings indicating that an article is made in the U.S. 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 Richard Laman at (646) 733-3017. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division