OT:RR:NC:N:1:128
Ms. Anastasiya Fedorova
Sal de Ibiza GmbH
Kleine Hamburger Str. 2
Berlin 10115
Germany
RE: The country of origin and marking of sea salt.
Dear Ms. Fedorova:
In your letter dated April 30, 2019, you requested a country of origin ruling determination on sea salt, and whether the proposed marking “Made in the EU” or “Product of the EU” are acceptable country of origin markings.
The merchandise under consideration is described as “Fleur de Sel—Natural Sea Salt.” From the information you provided, the salt is naturally formed by the evaporation of sea water by the sun in its natural setting, namely salt ponds in Ibiza, Spain, and saline fields in Belgium and France. The salt is collected by hand from each country and shipped to either Barcelona, Spain or Berlin, Germany, where the salts are combined if necessary, cleaned, and packaged for export to the United States. You state that the percentage of salt in the final product from Ibiza may vary from 95 percent to 100 percent, while the percentage of salt from Portugal and France may vary from 0 percent to 5 percent. 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 courts have held that 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); Anheuser Busch Brewing Association v. The United States, 207 U.S. 556 (1908) and Uniroyal Inc. v. United States, 542 F. Supp. 1026 (1982). 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). 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). With respect to the Fleur de Sel—Natural Sea Salt at issue, the salts are produced by the natural solar evaporation of sea water in Spain, or Spain, Portugal, and France, depending on the origin of the salt included in the final product. The described processing of the salt in Spain or Germany does not result in a new product having a distinctive name, character or use. Therefore, in our opinion, the country of origin of the Fleur de Sel—Natural Sea Salt would be the constituent countries from which the salt was harvested, namely Spain, when the final product contains salt entirely harvested in Spain, or Spain, Portugal, and France, when the final product contains salt harvested in those countries.
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.
As noted above, you propose marking the Fleur de Sel—Natural Sea Salt as “Made in the EU” or “Product of the EU.” However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection does not accept marking merchandise as a product of the European Union because the European Union is not a country. Therefore, the proposed marking of the imported Fleur de Sel—Natural Sea Salt, 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 Fleur de Sel—Natural Sea Salt should be marked “Product of Spain” when the final product contains salt entirely harvested in Spain, and “Product of Spain, Portugal, and France,” when the final product contains salt harvested from those countries.
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