MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N1:128
Ms. Tarryn Dirks
Cape Herb and Spice
50 Bell Crescent
Westlake Business Park
Westlake 7945, Private Bag x28
Constantia, 7848
Cape Town
South Africa
RE: The country of origin and marking of sea salt.
Dear Ms. Dirks:
This is in response to your letter dated February 18, 2019, requesting a ruling on the country of origin of sea salt, and whether the proposed marking “Product of Belgium, Packed in South Africa” is an acceptable country of origin marking. Samples were submitted with your letter and will be returned to you.
The merchandise under consideration are two types of sea salt, Marsel 2-4 and Marsel 2-4 JO. From the information you provided, the salt is naturally formed by the solar evaporation of sea water on the coasts of Australia and Bonaire (a special municipality of the Netherlands). The salt is harvested in each country and shipped to Belgium. In Belgium, the salt obtained from both countries is combined. It then undergoes various cleaning and purification processes as well as crushing and sieving as needed. Potassium iodate is added to the Marsel 2-4 JO salt in order to iodize it. After processing in Belgium, the Marsel 2-4 and Marsel 2-4 JO are shipped to South Africa for packaging.
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.
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).
With respect to the Marsel 2-4 and Marsel 2-4 JO, the salts are produced by the natural solar evaporation of sea water in Australia and Bonaire. The described processing of the salt in Belgium does not result in a new product having a distinctive name, character or use. Therefore, in our opinion, the country of origin of the Marsel 2-4 and Marsel 2-4 JO salts would be the constituent countries from which the salt was harvested, namely Australia and the Netherlands.
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.
As provided in section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), the country of origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain.
With regard to the permanency of a marking, section 134.41(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(a)), provides that as a general rule marking requirements are best met by marking worked into the article at the time of manufacture. For example, it is suggested that the country of origin on metal articles be die sunk, molded in, or etched. However, section 134.44, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.44), generally provides that any marking that is sufficiently permanent so that it will remain on the article until it reaches the ultimate purchaser unless deliberately removed is acceptable.
The proposed marking of the imported Marsel 2-4 and Marsel 2-4 JO salts, as described above, is not conspicuously, legibly and permanently marked in satisfaction of the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134 and is not an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported salt. The Marsel 2-4 and Marsel 2-4 JO should be marked “Product of Australia and the Netherlands, packaged in South Africa.”
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 Nicole Sullivan at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division