OT:RR:NC:5:121
Eliza Concannon
Laufer Group International
1301 West 22nd Street, Suite 212 Oak Brook, IL 60523
RE: Country of origin of an unassembled steel curtain rod
Dear Ms. Concannon:
In your letter dated October 6, 2023, you requested a country of origin ruling of an unassembled steel curtain rod on behalf of House of Atlas, LLC.
The merchandise under consideration is described as MS ¾” Square Single Curtain Rod, part number MS10-290-508-61. This item when assembled, is a completed curtain rod ready for installation. It includes a steel curtain rod, a square finial made of ABS plastic, a steel mounting bracket, and mounting hardware.
The rod is imported from China as long tubes of cold rolled carbon steel that are uncut, unfinished, and not coated or painted. Once imported into Cambodia the steel tubes will be cut to length for various curtain rod sizes and powder coated. The square finials are imported from China as two halves of one finial. They are made of ABS plastic, manufactured by injection molding, unfinished, and not painted. Once imported into Cambodia the finial components will be assembled with the screw and rod insert plug and then painted. Single continuous pieces of rolled steel are imported from China or Vietnam and in Cambodia the steel will be cut, molded, and stamped into the shape of a bracket, and then powder coated. Additionally, the following components are sourced in China and do not undergo any additional manufacturing or finishing processes in Cambodia: plastic plug for finial, screw for finial, spacer sleeve for rod, adapter sleeve for rod, thumb/set screw for bracket, mounting screw for bracket, screw-in anchor for bracket and press-in anchor for bracket. The components will be assembled and packaged for retail sale in Cambodia and then shipped to the United States.
The applicable subheading for the MS ¾” Square Single Curtain Rod, part number MS10-290-508-61, will be 8302.41.6050 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles…Other mountings, fittings and similar articles, and parts thereof, Suitable for buildings, Other, Of iron or steel, of aluminum or of zinc, For curtains, draperies and window shades. The rate of duty will be 3.9 percent ad valorem.
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). 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) (Uniroyal). Substantial transformation determinations are based on the totality of the evidence. See Headquarters Ruling (HQ) W968434, date January 17, 2007, citing Ferrostaal Metals Corp. v. United States, 11 CIT 470, 478, 664 F. Supp. 535, 541 (1987). In the Uniroyal case, the court held that an upper was not substantially transformed when attached to an outsole to form a shoe and that the upper was "the very essence of the completed shoe".
In this case, the steel rod of Chinese origin is cut to length and powder coated in Cambodia. CBP has consistently determined that mere cutting to length does not effect a substantial transformation. The powder coating operation also does not substantially transform the steel rod. The two halves of the plastic finial are injection molded in China. In Cambodia they are assembled into one finial using the Chinese screw and rod insert plug, and then painted. It is the opinion of this office that the mere assembly and painting of the two halves of the finial into one complete finial does not effect a substantial transformation as they are predetermined to be used as finials as imported into Cambodia. While cutting, molding and stamping the rolled steel of Chinese or Vietnamese origin into brackets is more substantial, the brackets are included with the previously listed components all of Chinese origin in Cambodia in a box and sold as an unassembled curtain rod. Therefore, it is our opinion that the unassembled curtain rod described as MS ¾” Square Single Curtain Rod, part number MS10-290-508-61, has a country of origin of China.
Pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS, products of China classified under subheading 8302.41.6050, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading, i.e., 9903.88.03, in addition to subheading 8302.41.6050, HTSUS, listed above. The HTSUS is subject to periodic amendment, so you should exercise reasonable care in monitoring the status of goods covered by the note cited above and the applicable Chapter 99 subheading. For background information regarding the trade remedy initiated pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, including information on exclusions and their effective dates, you may refer to the relevant parts of the USTR and CBP websites, which are available at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/tariff-actions and https://www.cbp.gov/trade/remedies/301-certain-products-china, respectively.
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 at https://hts.usitc.gov/current
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 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 Jennifer Jameson at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division