The origin, marking, and eligibility under subheading 9802.00.5060 for gold pendants.

N360868May 19, 2026OT:RR:71:NC:N4:441
CATEGORY: OriginArthur W. BodekGrunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLC599 Lexington AvenueNew York, NY 10022RE: The origin, marking, and eligibility under subheading 9802.00.5060 for gold pendants.Dear Mr. Bodek:In your letter dated
April 20, 2026
, you requested a ruling on behalf of your client, Cemayla LLC, d/b/aFoundrae. You submitted photographs, product description, and manufacturing information for ourconsideration.Styles MG0028-STA-YG, MG0031-BEE-YG-DI, and MG0085-REV-YG-DI are gold pendants.Manufacturing Steps:Creating the wax model. This is performed in the United States.Casting. This is performed in the United States.Setting gemstones and final polishing. This is performed in Thailand or India.Packaging. This is performed in Thailand or India.The applicable subheading for the pendants will be 7113.19.50, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the UnitedStates (HTSUS), which provides for “Articles of jewelry and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal cladwith precious metal: Of other precious metal, whether or not plated or clad with precious metal: Other.” Thegeneral rate of duty will be 5.5 percent ad valorem.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 asubstantial 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.U.S., 681 F.2d 778 (C.C.P.A. 1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See NationalHand Tool Corp. v. U.S., 16 C.I.T. 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993).You propose that the country of origin of the subject pendants is the United States. We agree. The casting ofthe pendants in the United States provides the essence of the finished product. Setting the gems and
performing final finishing does not substantially transform the castings. Therefore, the finished article will beconsidered a product of the United States. Since the country of origin will be the United States, the p will beexcepted from country of origin for marking purposes.Your request also concerns the eligibility of the article under subheading 9802.00.5060, HTSUS, whichprovides a partial or complete duty exemption for articles returned to the U.S. after having been exported tobe advanced in value or improved in condition by any process of manufacture or other means, provided thatthe documentary requirements of Section 10, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.8) are satisfied. We find thedescribed foreign processing acceptable for the purposes of 9802.00.5060, HTSUS.Accordingly, upon reimportation, the pendants will be eligible for tariff treatment under 9802.00.5060,HTSUS, provided the documentary requirements of 19 CFR 10.8 are satisfied. Pursuant to 19 CFR 10.8, theimporter must submit a declaration executed by the person who performed the repairs or alterations and adeclaration of his own containing various attestations.Articles eligible under subheading 9802.00.5060 are subject to duty upon the value of the repairs, alterations,processing, or otherwise changes in condition abroad, pursuant to Note 3 to Subchapter II, Chapter 98,HTSUS.The duties cited above are current as of this ruling’s issuance. Duty rates are provided for your convenienceand are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are providedat https://hts.usitc.gov/.This ruling does not address the applicability of any additional duties, taxes, fees, exactions and/or othercharges, which may apply to the goods discussed herein. This includes, but is not limited to, tariffs and otherduties as provided for in Subchapter III to Chapter 99, HTSUS. Thus, for example, in addition to theclassification stated above, the merchandise covered by this ruling may also need to be reported with eitherthe Chapter 99 provision under which an additional tariff applies or one of the Chapter 99 provisionscovering exceptions to such tariffs.For further information to assist with the importation process, please refer to the frequently updated CargoSystems Messaging Service (CSMS) messages at https://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated/cargo-systems-messaging-service and the Trade Remedies page at https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/trade-remedies.The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description asidentified 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 theinformation furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate andcomplete in every material respect. In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do notconform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs andBorder 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 periodicverification by CBP.This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border ProtectionRegulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documentsfiled at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, please contactNational Import Specialist Vikki Lazaro at [email protected].
Sincerely,
(for)James P. ForkanDirectorNational Commodity Specialist Division