RE: The country of origin and marking of flavored pitted date snacks

U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Commodity Specialist Division One World Trade Center, Suite 51.201 New York, NY 10007 U.S. Customs and Border Protection N364363 September 15, 2026 OT:RR:NC:N5:228 CATEGORY: Origin; Marking Maj linn Massinger Sweetling LLC 975 Main Street Nashville, TN 37206 RE: The country of origin and marking of flavored pitted date snacks Dear Ms. Massinger: In your letter dated August 18, 2026, you requested a country of origin and marking ruling. An ingredients breakdown, description of the product, manufacturing flowchart, narrative description of the manufacturing process, pictures of the product, and product labeling accompanied your inquiry. The subject merchandise is described as a formulated flavored packaged date snack/confectionery product sold to consumers under the Cheeky Dates brand. The flavored snack is said to be composed of dates (Iran), inulin fiber (Belgium), watermelon flavor (United States), watermelon powder (United States), coconut oil (Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia) and malic acid (United States). The principal ingredient in the flavored snack is Iranian grown pitted semi-dry Sayer (Estamaran) dates that have been imported to Canada by an independent Canadian supplier and purchased from existing Canadian commercial inventory. Sweetling LLC will purchase the Iranian dates from that Canadian supplier and have them delivered to a Canadian commercial food manufacturing/co-packing facility. At the Canadian co-packing facility, the Iranian dates will be manufactured into the finished branded flavored snack according to Sweetling LLC’s commercial formulation. Activities are expected to include ingredient staging and measurement; application of flavoring, fruit powder, fiber, food acid, and other formulation ingredients; mixing/coating to the finished product specification; in-process and finished-product quality control; consumer portioning by weight; pouch filling; heat sealing; lot/date coding; inspection, and case packing. The production process is performed in multiple stages rather than all of the ingredients being mixed together in a single coating. The Iranian-origin dates are imported to Canada and initially undergo a controlled dehydration step to reduce moisture, which alters their texture from softer and stickier to firmer and chewier. Next, a liquid coating is separately prepared using coconut oil and the natural oil-soluble watermelon flavor. The dehydrated dates are coated with this mixture, which distributes the watermelon flavor across the surface of the dates and provides the base layer to which the dry formulation can subsequently adhere. This is
followed by a second coating in which a separate dry formulation consisting of inulin, malic acid, and watermelon powder is prepared and applied after the first liquid coating. The dry formulation adheres to the first coating and creates the exterior sour watermelon layer. Each component performs a separate function: the inulin contributes body and structure to the coating; the malic acid creates the pronounced sour/tart flavor profile, and the watermelon powder contributes watermelon fruit solids and watermelon character to the exterior coating. After both coating stages have been completed, the coated dates undergo an additional controlled dehydration step. This further dries and sets the exterior coating, reduces surface tackiness, and contributes to the firmer and more cohesive texture of the finished product. Following the second dehydration step, the flavored dates are packaged in Canada for retail sale and exported from Canada to Sweetling LLC in the United States for retail distribution. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AND MARKING: Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that unless excepted, every article 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 to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the United States, the English name of the country of origin of the article. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know 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, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will.” See United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940). Section 134.1(b), CBP Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” as the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such 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 other USMCA provisions, published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2021 (86 FR 35566), the rules set forth in sections 102.1 through 102.18 and 102.20 determine the country of origin for marking purposes with respect to goods imported from Canada and Mexico. Section 102.11 provides a required hierarchy for determining the country of origin of a good for marking purposes, with the exception of textile and apparel goods. Applied in sequential order, 19 CFR 102.11(a) provides that the country of origin of a good is the country in which: (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 set out in Part 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied. The subject merchandise is neither “wholly obtained or produced” nor “produced exclusively from domestic materials.” Therefore, Sections 102.11(a)(1) and (a)(2) do not apply to the facts presented in this case because the flavored pitted date snack is neither wholly obtained nor produced exclusively from domestic materials. Because the analysis of sections 102.11(a)(1) and 102.11(a) (2) does not yield a country of origin determination, we must look to section 102.11(a)(3). Section 102.11(a)(3) provides that the country of origin of a good is the country in which: Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in § 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied.
“Foreign material” is defined in section 102.1(e) as “a material whose country of origin as determined under these rules is not the same country as the country in which the good is produced.” The subject merchandise is classified under subheading 2008.99.2500, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The applicable tariff shift requirement in Part 102.20 for the subject merchandise of 2008.19 through 2008.99, HTSUS, consists of the following: “ A change to subheading 2008.19 through 2008.99 from any other chapter, provided that the change is not the result of mere blanching of nuts.” Furthermore, the rules specified in section 102.11(a)(3) Chapter 20 Note state the following: “Notwithstanding the specific rules of this chapter, fruit, nut and vegetable preparations of Chapter 20 that have been prepared or preserved merely by freezing, by packing (including canning) in water, brine or natural juices, or by roasting, either dry or in oil (including processing incidental to freezing, packing, or roasting), shall be treated as a good of the country in which the fresh good was produced.” The flavored pitted date snack contains the following non-originating ingredients that must undergo the tariff shift: dates (Iran), inulin fiber (Belgium), and coconut oil (Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia). Since the change to subheadings 2008.19 through 2008.99 from any other chapter will occur as a result of the production in Canada, the flavored pitted date snack will undergo the required change in tariff classification. Moreover, the flavored dates have not been prepared or preserved merely by freezing, by packing (including canning) in water, brine, or natural juices, or by roasting, either dry or in oil (including processing incidental to freezing, packing, or roasting). Therefore, the tariff shift requirement of section 102.11(a)(3) is met. The country of origin of the flavored pitted date snack for marking purposes is Canada. When determining the country of origin for purposes of applying current trade remedies under Section 301 and additional duties, the substantial transformation analysis is applicable. See, e.g., Headquarters (HQ) Ruling Letter 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). It is the view of this office that when applying a substantial transformation analysis for purposes of implementing current trade remedies, the manufacturing processes as described above in Canada would not change the character or use of the dates. They would essentially remain the same dates and would be recognizable as such, having the same character and use as the dates exported from Iran. For example, see HQ 084928, dated September 19, 1989, in which wholly grown, pitted dates, a product of Pakistan, were shipped to Canada where they were macerated, sugar coated, and chopped. In HQ 084928, it was determined that the subject dates had not undergone a substantial transformation and were therefore a product of Pakistan. Accordingly, in the current scenario concerning the formulated flavored packaged date snack/confectionery product, the country of origin for determining the applicability of Section 301 trade remedies is Iran. This ruling does not address importation restrictions from Iran. For information regarding import restrictions, please contact the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control at the following website address: www.treas.gov/ofac. 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 ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the U.S. 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 Timothy Petrulonis at [email protected]. Sincerely, (for) James P. Forkan Director National Commodity Specialist Division