CLA-2-08:OT:RR:NC:N4:228
Mr. David L. Roberts
Global Food Importers, Inc.
23621 99th Place, W.
Edmonds, WA 98020
RE: The tariff classification and country of origin of frozen mango chunks from Cambodia
Dear Mr. Roberts:
In your letter dated May 24, 2016, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
An ingredients breakdown and a description of the manufacturing process were provided with your letter. The product is said to be individually quick frozen (IQF) mango chunks, packed for retail sale in plastic bags. You explain the manufacturing process as whole fresh mangoes, grown in Cambodia, are picked and shipped to Vietnam where they are peeled, cut in half, the seeds removed, and then cut into 20 mm x 20 mm chunks. Then they are passed through a freezing tunnel to produce the final product. The frozen (IQF) mango chunks are they packed in Vietnam and trucked back to Cambodia for export to the United States.
The applicable subheading for the frozen (IQF) mango chunks will be 0811.90.5200, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for fruit, uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water, frozen, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter … other … mangoes. The rate of duty will be 10.9 percent ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
Articles classifiable under subheading 0811.90.5200, HTSUS, that are products of Cambodia are currently entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. The GSP, however, is subject to modification and periodic suspension, which may affect the status of your transaction at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. To obtain current information on GSP, check our Web site at www.cbp.gov and search for the term “GSP".
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.
Section 134.1(b), CBP Regulations (19 C.F.R. 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” as:
[T]he 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. . . .
A substantial transformation occurs when an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 CCPA 267, C.A.D. 98 (1940); National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 CIT 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F. 2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993). However, if the manufacturing or combining process is merely a minor one that leaves the identity of the article intact, a substantial transformation has not occurred. Uniroyal, Inc. v. United States, 3 CIT 220, 542 F. Supp. 1026, 1029 (1982), aff’d, 702 F.2d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 1983).
In this case, we find that the imported frozen (IQF) mango chunks would not be substantially transformed by peeling, cutting in half, removing the seeds, cutting into chunks, and passing through the freezing tunnel in Vietnam. Pursuant to 19 C.F.R. 134, the country of origin of the IQF mango chunks would remain the country where they are grown, namely Cambodia. Accordingly, the product may be marked on the retail bags “Product of Cambodia,” or a similar marking.
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 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 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 Bruce N. Hadley, Jr. at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division