The Country of Origin of Frozen Alaskan Pollock

N362488
June 26, 2026
OT:RR:NC:N5:231
CATEGORY: Origin Mr. Timothy Park B&H Customs Services Inc. 147-19 Springfield Lane Suite A Jamaica, NY 11413 RE: The Country of Origin of Frozen Alaskan Pollock Dear Mr. Park: In your letter, dated June 22, 2026, you requested a country of origin determination on behalf of your client, Seoul Shik Poom Inc. (Englewood, NJ). The subject merchandise is wild-caught Alaskan pollock, harvested by a U.S.-flagged vessel, which undergoes initial heading, gutting, and freezing at a facility located in the United States. The fish is then exported to South Korea for secondary processing that involves thawing, washing, trimming, portioning, refreezing, and packaging. The final retail-ready frozen product is packed in plastics bags with a net weight of 1.1-pound (24 per case) and 4.5-pounds (6 per case) and then shipped back to the United States. 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). Regarding the above-described frozen Alaskan pollock, this office determines that the processing performed in South Korea does not result in a substantial transformation of the frozen Alaskan pollock. Consequently, the finished good is a product of the United States. The question of whether the applicable merchandise at issue may be marked with a phrase such as “Product of U.S.A.” is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection,

Division of Enforcement, which may be contacted for advice at 600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580, or through the FTC’s website at http://www.ftc.gov. Please note that seafood is subject to the Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements administered by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). We advise you to check with that agency for their further guidance on your scenario. Contact information for AMS is as follows: USDA-AMS-LS-SAT Room 2607-S, Stop 0254 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250-0254 Tel. 202.720.4486 Website: www.ams.usda.gov/COOL Email address for inquiries: [email protected] 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 the 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 Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 C.F.R. Part177). 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) James P. Forkan Director National Commodity Specialist Division