The country of origin of a marking crayon

N361141May 21, 2026OT:RR:NC:N4:462
CATEGORY: OriginFangyi TianAutowin Group LimitedUnit 8, 15/F, Witty Commercial Building, 1A-1L Tung Choi StreetMongkok, KowloonHong KongChinaRE: The country of origin of a marking crayonDear Ms. Tian,In your letter dated
April 29, 2026
, you requested a country of origin ruling on a marking crayon.The product under consideration is described as the “Tire Marker – White,” item number SP020, SKUnumber 1687707. It is a white crayon wrapped in a yellow label, measuring approximately 3.8 inches inlength and 0.5 inches in diameter.The crayon is used for marking and identifying punctures, cracks, or worn areas on rubber tires, helping technicians locate areas for maintenance and repair. In your submission, you outline a scenario in which the raw materials for the crayon, including paraffin wax,stearic acid, talcum powder, and titanium dioxide, are sourced in China and shipped to Malaysia. The production process that takes place in Malaysia includes heating and mixing the raw materials to a liquidstate, casting the molten wax liquid into hexagonal casting molds for forming, and cooling through a watertank/air cooling line to shape the crayon. A yellow self-adhesive label produced in Malaysia is attached tothe crayon before quality testing is conducted.The finished crayon is then packaged onto a blister card in Malaysia. 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., 681 F.2d 778 (C.C.P.A. 1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. v. United States , 16 CIT 308 (1992), , 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993).See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United Statesaff’d
However, if the manufacturing or combining process is merely a minor one that leaves the identity of thearticle intact, a substantial transformation has not occurred. , 3 CIT 220, See Uniroyal, Inc. v. United States542 F. Supp. 1026, 1029 (1982), , 702 F.2d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 1983);aff’d National Juice Products Association, 628 F. Supp. 978 (CIT 1986). v. United States You suggest the country of origin for the marking crayon is Malaysia.We disagree. We find the crayon akin to the articles ruled upon in NY ruling N008578, dated April 16, 2007.The marking crayon is essentially a stick of paraffin wax, and the melting, casting/molding, and cooling processes performed in Malaysia do notresult in a substantial transformation.Therefore, the country of origin of the “Tire Marker – White,” item number SP020, SKU number 1687707, is China, the country of origin of the paraffin wax.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 Sandra Walia at [email protected].
Sincerely,
(for)James P. ForkanDirectorNational Commodity Specialist Division