OT:RR:NC:N1:105
Ryan Supek
TE Connectivity Corporation
2800 Fulling Mill Rd. Middletown, PA 17057
RE: The country of origin of a pressure sensor
Dear Mr. Supek:
In your letter dated June 23, 2023, you requested a country of origin ruling of a pressure sensor.
The item under consideration is described as a pressure sensor (part number 85CV-050A-A2909), which is a small profile, media compatible, piezoresistive silicon pressure sensor packaged in a 316L stainless steel housing. The product is designed for OEM applications where compatibility with corrosive media is required. Once the die is packaged into the stainless-steel housing, it becomes compatible with semiconductor CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) gases. The sensor helps measure the amount of gas that enters the chambers of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The sensing package utilizes silicone oil to transfer pressure from the 316L stainless steel diaphragm to the sensing element. A ceramic substrate is attached to the package that contains laser-trimmed resistors for temperature compensation and offset correction.
In your request, you provided two manufacturing scenarios.
In the first scenario, the sensing die, which comes in wafer form, is manufactured into a wafer fab in the United States. It is etched, processed, and qualified to ensure it meets the desired performance characteristics. The wafer is shipped to China where the remaining manufacturing process occurs. When the wafer arrives in China, it is prepared for assembly by being diced into individual dies. At this stage, the die within the wafer can sense pressure and give an electrical output if probed.
The first step in the assembly process includes the die being glued onto the header using adhesive. Then, the insert is attached using adhesive. Next, the insert/die combination goes through a 24-hour humidity curing process, which cures the adhesive. When finished, the die and insert are now permanently attached to the header. The assembly then goes through a plasma cleaning process, which helps prepare the surfaces of the die and the pins for better adhesion for the wire bonding process. Then, the wire bonding process occurs where the wires are attached to the assembly. Finally, a quick visual check is performed to ensure the wire bonding process is successful and the die is in the correct place.
The next step is that the module (the main body for the oil filled sensor) is laser marked with the part number and serial number and it is cleaned and prepared for the welding process. The module and the header/die/insert assembly are then welded together through resistance welding. Next, the diaphragm and weld ring are welded to the assembly. The assembly then goes through a baking process, which attempts to evaporate all humidity from the components. After baking, the assembly goes through the oil fill process. This involves the assembly going into a chamber with a vacuum. A valve is opened which introduces oil into the chamber and fills the negative volume. The vacuum continues to work to remove any bubbles. After the process is over, the vacuum is removed, and the parts are left submerged under oil. While the parts are in that chamber in the oil, a stainless-steel ball is dropped on top of the cavity, which temporary seals the oil volume inside the sensor assembly. Then a tweezer weld is applied onto that ball, which permanently seals the oil volume. The assembly is then removed from the oil bath, and undergoes a cleaning process, where a solvent is used that removes the silicone oil from the exterior of the body. It is then visually checked to ensure all the oil has been removed from the exterior. At this stage, the assembly is a functioning sensor that is media compatible.
Next, the parts are installed into a manifold for over pressure testing at the rated pressure, which is three times the pressure range for this pressure sensor. Since this is a 50 PSI part, 150 PSI of pressure is applied for 30 minutes. This confirms the integrity of the welds. The assembly then undergoes a drift test, which is a test for stability for seven hours at 85 degrees Celsius. Then, the item undergoes a Temperature Coefficient test (TC test), where the individual performance of each sensor is tested. It goes from room temperature, to cold, to hot, and at each point the zero, half-scale, full-scale, and return pressure are tested. The assembly then undergoes a leak check, where a vacuum is applied to the entire part and the output is checked. This checks if there are any air voids in the oil-filled volume.
After the TC test and leak check, the sensor will have its own coefficients. From these coefficients, a specific board will be individually laser trimmed and matched to the pressure sensor. The NTC thermistors will be soldered to the laser trim ceramic substrate, then the laser trim ceramic substrate will be soldered onto the back of the oil filled sensor module. Contact pins and a connector are then soldered onto it. A final electrical check is performed to ensure an electrical signal can go through the connector.
The second scenario is exactly like the first scenario, except that after the “Scan and Visual Check” of the sub-assembly in China, all additional manufacturing steps will occur in Mexico.
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.”
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).
Regarding the applicability of Section 301 trade remedies for the pressure sensor described in both scenarios, CBP relies on a substantial transformation analysis. It is the view of this office that the work performed in the United States produces a wafer of U.S. origin. Further, we are of the opinion that the wafer imparts the essential component of the finished good, and the assembly operations conducted in China (first scenario) and Mexico (second scenario) is not complex and does not substantially transform the wafer as a result of encapsulating, soldering, gluing and welding the wafer with additional components. The wafer is a pressure sensing device when it leaves the United States and can only be used as pressure sensing device when the manufacturing process in China or Mexico is complete. Since a new and different article is not created, the pressure sensor described in both scenarios is not subject to additional duties applicable to products of China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, upon importation into the United States.
For the first marking scenario, it is the opinion of this office that the wafer of United States origin is the essential component of the finished good, and the assembly operations conducted in China do not substantially transform the wafer as a result of encapsulating, soldering, gluing and welding the wafer with additional components. The wafer is a pressure sensing device when it leaves the United States and can only be used as pressure sensing device when the manufacturing process in China is complete. The assembly work, as described, is not complex so as to produce a new and different article. Accordingly, the country of origin of the pressure sensor for marking purposes is the United States.
Regarding the second scenario, 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 §§ 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 goods which are subject to the provisions of 19 C.F.R. § 102.21. See 19 C.F.R. § 102.11. Applied in sequential order, 19 CFR Part 102.11(a) provides for: The country of origin of a good is the country in which: The good is wholly obtained or produced; The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or 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 pressure sensor is neither “wholly obtained or produced” nor “produced exclusively from domestic materials.” Therefore, paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) cannot be used to determine the country of origin of the pressure sensor, and paragraph (a)(3) must be applied next to determine the origin of the finished article. The pressure sensor is classified under subheading 9026.20, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The tariff shift requirement in Part 102.20 for the pressure sensor at issue states:
A change to subheading 9026.10 through 9026.80 from any other subheading, including another subheading within that group.
Since all the foreign materials are classified outside of subheading 9026.20, HTSUS, the requisite tariff shift rule is met, and therefore, for scenario two, the finished pressure sensor is considered country of origin Mexico.
Please note that 19 C.F.R. § 177.9(b)(1) provides that “[e]ach ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in connection with the ruling request and incorporated in the ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. The application of a ruling letter by a Customs and Border Protection field office to the transaction to which it is purported to relate is subject to the verification of the facts incorporated in the ruling letter, a comparison of the transaction described therein to the actual transaction, and the satisfaction of any conditions on which the ruling was based.”
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the 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 Jason Christie at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division