The country of origin of pencils

N348264
May 6, 2025
OT:RR:NC:N4:422
CATEGORY: Origin Ms. Mireya Ruano Veyer LLC 6600 N Military Trail Boca Raton, FL 33496 RE: The country of origin of pencils Dear Ms. Ruano: In your letter dated April 25, 2025, you requested a country of origin ruling on pencils. The items under consideration are yellow pencils, product SKU: 800387. In your letter, you indicate that the material components for the wood-cased lead pencils are sourced in the United States, China, and Vietnam. The wood is sourced in the United States, and the graphite lead is produced in China and shipped to Vietnam. The production process that takes place in Vietnam is divided into five phases including: 1) slat production, 2) grooving, lead inserting, and shaping, 3) painting, and 4) finishing: imprinting, end-cutting and eraser installation, 5) packaging. In your letter, you state that all processing occurs at the manufacturer facility in Vietnam. When determining the country of origin for purposes of applying current trade remedies under Section 301, the substantial transformation analysis is applicable. See, e.g., Headquarters Ruling Letter H301619, dated November 6, 2018. The test for determining whether a substantial transformation will occur is whether an article emerges from a process with a new name, character, or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. See Texas Instruments Inc. v. United States, 681 F.2d 778 (C.C.P.A. 1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 C.I.T. 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Based on the facts you have submitted regarding the production of the pencils, such operations have effected a substantial transformation, such that the country of origin is Vietnam. 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 Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1).

This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by CBP. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border Protection 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, please contact National Import Specialist Dana L. Giammanco at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division