COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF SMOKED SALMON FILLETS PRODUCED IN DENMARK FROM WHOLE NORWEGIAN FISH

N174897 August 3, 2011 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:2:231 CATEGORY: MARKING Mr. Poul M. Jensen Danish Seafood Association H.C. Andersens Boulevard 37, 1 København V, 1553 Denmark RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF SMOKED SALMON FILLETS PRODUCED IN DENMARK FROM WHOLE NORWEGIAN FISH Dear Mr. Jensen: This is in response to your letter dated July 13, 2011 requesting a country of origin ruling on smoked salmon fillets produced in Denmark from whole Norwegian fish. Your request was submitted on behalf of Norlax A/S (Denmark). You have outlined a scenario in which Atlantic salmon will be farm-raised in sea cages in Norway. After being harvested and slaughtered/gutted in Norway, the fish, whole and fresh on ice, will be transported to Denmark. In Denmark, the salmon will be de-headed, filleted, salted, cold-smoked, packed and frozen. You seek a determination of the country of origin applicable to the packaged, frozen, smoked fillets, which will be exported to the United States. 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. Pursuant to 19 CFR Section 134.1(b), the country of origin is the country of manufacture, production or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the U.S. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such country the country of origin within the meaning of Part 134 of the regulations. A substantial transformation occurs when a new and different article of commerce emerges from a process with a new name, character or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. See United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940). Based on Koru North America v. United States, 12 CIT 1120, 701 F. Suppl. 229 (C.I.T., 1988), it is a longstanding position of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that the conversion of whole fish into fillets constitutes a substantial transformation. See, for example, Headquarters Ruling Letter 735084, dated August 17, 1993, and New York Ruling Letter J84290, dated June 10, 2003. In the present case, the whole fresh salmon, while in Denmark, undergo a filleting process, and also undergo salting, smoking and freezing. We thus find that the fish are substantially transformed as a result of the Danish processing, and that therefore the country of origin of the frozen, smoked fillets is Denmark. The packages should be marked accordingly, e.g., “Product of Denmark.” 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 Nathan Rosenstein at (646) 733-3030. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division