MAR-2:OT:RR:NC:N2:220
Regina Liu
Tongfang Hong Kong Limited
2F., No.240, Sec. 1, Neihu Rd.
Neihu District, Taipei
Taiwan
RE: The country of origin of a docking station
Dear Ms. Liu:
In your letter dated March 25, 2020 you requested a country of origin ruling.
The merchandise under consideration is referred to as the Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station (Docking Station) and is identified as Product Number DKRA100. The Docking Station is described as a an enclosure containing a main printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), a solid state drive (SSD), and a cooling fan. On the rear and side of the Docking Station there are a number of connection sockets, such as HDMI, Thunderbolt, Display Port, USB, audio, and RJ45. The Docking Station is used to connect portable automatic data processing machines to a network and various peripherals, such as a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, etc.
In your request, you state the individual electronic components are sourced from various origins, such as China, Taiwan, and Malaysia. The SSD is said to be produced in Taiwan, while the fan and the top/bottom enclosure subassemblies are produced in China. In Taiwan, you describe the PCBA as being manufactured by surface mounting approximately 1,100 individual electronic components such as integrated circuits, resistors, capacitors, diodes, MOSFETs, and more, to produce a PCBA main board. Once the PCBA is produced in Taiwan, it is shipped to China for assembly. In China, the PCBA is inserted into the enclosure base along with the cooling fan and the SSD, the assembly is secured with screws, loaded with firmware, and tested prior to packing with a Chinese power adapter and Thunderbolt 3 cable.
The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. 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 U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article.
The “country of origin” is defined in 19 CFR 134.1(b) 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 this part; however, for a good of a NAFTA country, the NAFTA Marking Rules will determine the country of origin.”
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, 69 C.C.P.A. 151 (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).
Based upon the facts presented and the pertinent authorities, it is the opinion of this office that the assembly of the PCBA by surface mounting and through hole insertion of integrated circuits, transistors, resistors, transformers, capacitors, connectors, etc. onto a bare PCB produces a PCBA main board of Taiwan origin. However, it is also our view that the subsequent assembly operations performed in China, which consist of inserting the PCBA and SSD into a housing and attaching with screws, is not complex and does not result in a substantial transformation of the PCBA into a different article of commerce with a new name, character, and use. Furthermore, the PCBA, which we conclude is of Taiwan origin, solely provides the interconnection functionality and is the essence of a finished docking station. As such, the Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station, Product Number DKRA100, is considered a product of Taiwan for origin and marking purposes at the time of importation into the United States.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs 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, contact National Import Specialist Karl Moosbrugger at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division