The country of origin of Fish Oil

N352389
September 12, 2025
OT:RR:NC:N5:231
CATEGORY: Origin Katelyn Hilferty Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC 20004 RE: The country of origin of Fish Oil Dear Ms. Hilferty: In your letter dated August 13, 2025, you requested a country of origin ruling on fish oil. The subject merchandise is oil derived from anchovies (Engraulis ringens). The fish oil derived from anchovies harvested in Peru is subsequently exported to China, where the oil undergoes multiple refining processes, including esterification, molecular distillation, winterization, mixing, bleaching, and deodorization. During processing, vitamin E of Chinese origin is added, resulting in a composition of approximately 99.8 percent fish oil and 0.2 percent vitamin E. The finished product will be shipped to the United States in drums, where it will undergo encapsulation. You seek a determination as to the country of origin of the above-described product. When determining the country of origin, the substantial transformation analysis is applicable. See, e.g., Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) 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). In this case, we find that neither the processing described in China (esterification, molecular distillation, winterization, mixing, bleaching, and deodorization) nor the addition of Chinese origin vitamin E effects a substantial transformation. Accordingly, we have determined that the fish oil retains its original country of origin as a product of Peru. 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 merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html. 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 Ekeng Manczuk at [email protected].
Sincerely,
(for) Denise Faingar Acting Director National Commodity Specialist Division