The country of origin of refined ahiflower oil

N361217May 22, 2026OT:RR:NC:N5:229
CATEGORY: OriginMichael E. BurkeArnall Golden Gregory2100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20037RE: The country of origin of refined ahiflower oilDear Mr. Burke,In your letter dated
May 4, 2026
, you requested a country of origin ruling for marking purposes for refinedahiflower oil on behalf of your client, Natures Crop International Limited.A narrative description of the manufacturing process accompanied your letter.You have outlined a scenario in which the seeds of the ahiflower plant are sourced from the United Kingdom. The seeds are also mechanically cold-pressed in the United Kingdom - without the use of chemical solvents -to produce crude ahiflower oil. The crude ahiflower oil is then shipped to Canada, where it is degummed,neutralized, bleached, and deodorized to refine the oil. The refined ahiflower oil is filtered, polished, andpackaged for export into the United States, where it will be used in food and beverage applications. Youstate the refined ahiflower oil is composed of 99.9 percent ahiflower oil and 0.1 percent fortium (rosemaryextract).Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that unless excepted, everyarticle 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 toindicate to the ultimate purchaser in the United States, the English name of the country of origin of thearticle. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able toknow 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, byknowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking shouldinfluence his will.” See , 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940). United States v. Friedlaender & Co.Section 134.1(b), CBP Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” as the country ofmanufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further workor material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to rendersuch other country the “country of origin” within the meaning of the marking laws and regulations.
Pursuant to section 102.0, interim regulations, related to the marking rules, tariff-rate quotas, and otherUSMCA provisions, published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2021 (86 FR 35566), the rules set forth insections 102.1 through 102.18 and 102.20 determine the country of origin for marking purposes with respectto goods imported from Canada and Mexico. Section 102.11 provides a required hierarchy for determiningthe country of origin of a good for marking purposes, with the exception of textile and apparel goods whichare subject to the provisions of 19 CFR 102.21. See 19 CFR 102.11. Applied in sequential order, 19 CFR 102.11(a) provides that the country of origin of a good is the country inwhich:(1) The good is wholly obtained or produced;(2) The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or(3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification setout in Part 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicablerequirements of these rules are satisfied.The refined ahiflower oil is neither “wholly obtained or produced” nor “produced exclusively from domesticmaterials.” Therefore, sections 102.11(a)(1) and 102.11(a)(2) cannot be used to determine the country oforigin of the oil.Since the analysis of sections 102.11(a)(1) and 102.11(a)(2) does not yield a country of origin determination, we must therefore look to section 102.11(a)(3).Section 102.20 (19 CFR 102.20) sets forth the applicable tariff change rules that address the current scenario.In HQ H278984, dated January 12, 2017, CBP determined that both crude and refined ahiflower oil wereclassified under subheading 1515.90, HTSUS. The applicable USMCA rule of origin for items classified subheading 1515.90, HTSUS, is:under “A change to headings 1501 through 1518 from any other chapter, except from heading 3823.”As the imported ahiflower oil and the non-originating material are both classifiable in heading 1515, HTSUS,the tariff shift requirement is not met. Since an analysis of section 102.11(a) has not produced a country oforigin determination, we must turn to section 102.11(b) of the regulations. Section 102.11(b)(1) provides as follows:(b) Except for a good that is specifically described in the Harmonized System as a set, or is classified as a setpursuant to General Rule of Interpretation 3, where the country of origin cannot be determined underparagraph (a) of this section:(1) The country of origin of the good is the country or countries of origin of the single material that impartsthe essential character to the good, or…The rule of interpretation set forth in 19 CFR 102.18(b)(1)(iii) states that if there is only one material that isclassified in a tariff provision from which a change in tariff classification is not allowed under the 19 CFR102.20 specific rule or other requirements applicable to the good, then that material will represent the singlematerial that imparts the essential character to the good under 19 CFR 102.11.In this case, the ahiflower crude oil from the United Kingdom is the single material that imparts the essential character to the good andtherefore, the United Kingdom will be the country of origin for marking purposes.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 merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Actof 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling the FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web sitewww.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html.This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations(19 C.F.R. Part 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 Christopher Gangaprashad at [email protected].
Sincerely,
(for)James P. ForkanDirectorNational Commodity Specialist Division