The country of origin and marking of roasted macadamia nuts from Australia, South Africa, and Malawi

N299115 August 7, 2018 CLA-2-20:OT:RR:NC:N2:228 CATEGORY: Country of Origin/Marking Ms. Gloria Chau TJs PO Box 5049 Monrovia, CA 91017 RE: The country of origin and marking of roasted macadamia nuts from Australia, South Africa, and Malawi Dear Ms. Chau: In your letter dated July 17, 2018, you requested a country of origin and marking ruling on roasted macadamia nuts from Australia, South Africa, and Malawi. You state that 80 percent of the raw macadamia nuts are imported from Africa to your plant in Australia where they are mixed together with 20 percent Australian macadamia nuts. In Australia, they are roasted and salted, and some are left unsalted. 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 products, a blend of macadamia nuts from Australia, South Africa, and Malawi are roasted, and some are roasted and salted in Australia before importation into the United States. 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, the goods currently under discussion retain their initial country-of-origin status for CBP marking purposes. Therefore, the individual retail packages of macadamia nuts must be marked to indicate that their contents are “Products of Australia, South Africa, and Malawi.” 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