CLA-2-83:OT:RR:NC:N1:121
Sandra Tovar, LCHB
CST, Inc.
500 Lanier Ave., W. Suite 901
Fayetteville, GA 30214
RE: The country of origin of screws and anchors packaged as a set
Dear Ms. Tovar:
In your letter dated October 31, 2019 you requested a country of origin ruling on behalf of Pan American Fasteners. The samples have been examined and will be retained in this office.
The article under consideration is identified as ANCHORKIT4X4, which contains four metal screws and four plastic anchors. The self-tapping screws are 23.56 mm long and 2.41 mm in diameter. They have a flat countersunk Philips head, are fully threaded and have a thread forming point. The four screws and four plastic anchors are packaged in a plastic straw-type packaging with crimped ends. The screws and anchors are sold together to carry out the function of wall mounting or fastening and are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking.
According to your request, the metal screws, if imported separately, would be classified as 7318.14.1060, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel: Threaded articles: Self-tapping screws: Having shanks or threads with a diameter of less than 6 mm: Other. And the plastic anchors, if imported separately, would be classified as 3926.90.9990, HTSUS, which provides for Other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914: Other: Other: Other.”
Ruling HQ H013681 (2008) also considered metal screws imported with plastic anchors. That ruling stated that the articles satisfy the criteria of a "set" and that neither the plastic anchor nor the metal screw impart the essential character of the set. Therefore, the set was classified according to GRI 3 (c) under heading 7318 which provides for Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles of iron or steel.
You have requested the country of origin of these sets for two different manufacturing scenarios. In scenario one, coiled steel wire of Taiwanese origin will be cold formed into a screw through a process of heading, pointing, threading, hardening and rust protection in Taiwan. The finished screws are then exported to China where they are packaged together in equal quantities with plastic anchors of Chinese origin. The plastic straw used for packaging is also of Chinese origin. The sets are then exported from China to the United States.
Scenario two is the same as scenario one, except the coiled steel wire used to make the screws would be of Chinese origin. The screws would be processed as above in Taiwan and then exported to China to be packaged together with Chinese plastic anchors and then exported to the United States.
With regard to your request for the appropriate country of origin of ANCHORKIT4X4, screw and anchor sets, 19 C.F.R. § 134.1(b) provides in pertinent part as follows: Country of origin means 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; As stated in HQ 735009 dated July 30, 1993, “The country of origin is the country where the article last underwent a “substantial transformation”, that is, processing which results in a change in the article's name, character, or use”. In addition, the court has held that “A substantial transformation occurs when an article emerges from a manufacturing process with a name, character, and use that differs from the original material subjected to the processing.” 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. In order to determine whether a substantial transformation occurs when components of various origins are assembled into completed products, all factors such as the components used to create the product and manufacturing processes that these components undergo are considered in order to determine whether a product with a new name, character and use has been produced. No one factor is decisive. Assembly operations that are minimal will generally not result in a substantial transformation. In this instance, it is this office’s opinion that it is the manufacturing operations of the screw in Taiwan that provide the essence of these articles. These items are not substantially changed by either the addition of the Chinese anchors or the packaging operations performed in China. In view of these facts, the country of origin of the ANCHORKIT4X4 would be Taiwan.
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 Jennifer Jameson at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division