The country of origin of roasted and seasoned watermelon kernels from China

N292514 January 4, 2018 CLA-2-12:OT:RR:NC:N2:228 CATEGORY: Country of Origin Ms. Melissa Grzybowski Food Labeling & Nutrition Consulting 326 Highland Drive Hibbing, MN 55746 RE: The country of origin of roasted and seasoned watermelon kernels from China Dear Ms. Grzybowski: In your letter dated December 1, 2017, you requested a country of origin ruling on roasted and seasoned watermelon kernels from China. You state the raw watermelon kernels are imported from China to your plant in the United States where they are roasted, oil roasted, roasted and salted, and oil roasted and seasoned (e.g. spices and salt mixtures). You inquire as to how these products need to be labeled according to the country of origin rules. Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. §1304), provides that unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the United States 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 United States, the English name of the country of origin of the article. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. §1304 was "that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will." United States v. Friedlander & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302; C.A.D. 104 (1940). Part 134, CBP Regulations (19 C.F.R. §134) implements the country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. §1304. 19 C.F.R. §134.1(b) defines “country of origin” as: [T]he country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the “country of origin” within the meaning of [the marking regulations]… A substantial transformation is said to have occurred when an article emerges from a manufacturing process with a name, character, or use which differs from the original material subjected to the process. U.S. v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940); Texas Instruments v. United States, 681 F.2d 778, 782 (1982). In this instance, the imported product, raw watermelon kernels, is roasted, oil roasted, roasted and salted, and oil roasted and seasoned (e.g. spices and salt mixtures). U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has previously ruled that the roasting of nuts does not effect a substantial transformation. See, for example, Headquarters Ruling Letter 730058 (June 2, 1987) and TD 85-158 (19 Cust. Bull. 360, October 15, 1985). Accordingly, we find that after being processed in the United States, the goods currently under discussion retain their initial country-of-origin status for CBP marking purposes. Therefore, the individual retail packages of roasted and seasoned watermelon kernels processed in the United States must be marked to indicate that their contents are products of the original country, e.g., “Product of China.” This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 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 Bruce N. Hadley, Jr. at [email protected]. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division