COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED VALVE COMPONENTS ASSEMBLED IN THE U.S.

N281991 January 17, 2017 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N1:102 CATEGORY: MARKING Mr. Myles S. Getlan Cassidy Levy Kent (USA) LLP 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 3000 Washington D.C., 20006 RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED VALVE COMPONENTS ASSEMBLED IN THE U.S. Dear Mr. Getlan: This is in response to your letter dated December 6, 2016, on behalf of Smith Valve, requesting a ruling on whether imported valve components are required to be individually marked with the country of origin if it is later to be processed in the U.S. by a U.S. manufacturer. A marked sample was not submitted with your letter for review. The articles in question are components of a gate, a globe and a check valve. The imported components are assembled together with U.S. components in the United States to produce a finished gate, globe and check valves. The assembly operations involve a five stage manufacturing process that include the assembly of components into subassemblies and then into finished products. The complete assembly of all the components involve the assembly of the bonnet assembly, the assembly of the body, the bonnet to body assembly, extensive pressure testing and stamping and final assembly inspection of the complete valves. The marking of the completed valve includes the attachment of a metal plate marking the valves as being of U.S. origin. 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 CFR 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 CFR 134.35. Based on the technical information made available, all the imported components are used by Smith Valve for the production of finished valves and are not sold in their condition as imported. Accordingly, we find that the imported kits are substantially transformed into articles with a new name, character or use, when processed in the United States to produce finished valves, and that Smith Valve is the ultimate purchaser of such kits. In accordance with 19 CFR 134.35, the imported components used to manufacture gate, globe and check valves, provided they are used by Smith Valve in the assembly of completed valves and not sold separately in their condition as imported, are excepted from individual marking and only the outermost containers of the imported articles must be marked with country of origin. 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 Sandra Martinez at [email protected]. Sincerely, Steve A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division