CLA-2-71:OT:RR:NC:N4 441
Jihoon You
Aurum Trading Inc
55 West 47th Street #1060
New York, NY 10036
RE: The Application of Subheading 9802.00.80 on Jewelry Mountings
Dear Mr. You:
In your letter dated April 22, 2025, you requested a ruling on the application of subheading 9802.00.80,
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), on gold grain alloy.
You have inquired as to whether gold jewelry mountings manufactured from the United States (U.S.)-origin
14K gold grain alloy and processed abroad (in Korea) would be eligible for partial duty exemption under
HTSUS 9802.00.80 upon reimportation into the U.S.
You have provided the following scenario:
The gold grain alloy is manufactured in the U.S. by melting and alloying 24K fine gold with secondary
metals followed by granulation into 14K gold grain (no forming or shaping).
The U.S. gold grain is sent to Korea where melting, casting, forming into ring shapes will be performed. The
14k mounting will also be polished, assembled, and finished in Korea and then returned to the U.S. for retail
sale.
All merchandise imported into the United States is subject to duty on its full appraised value and total
quantity unless specifically exempted. Heading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, provides for a partial exemption from
duty on “articles assembled abroad in whole or in part of fabricated components, the product of the United
States, which (a) were exported in condition ready for assembly without further fabrication, (b) have not lost
their physical identity in such articles by change in form, shape, or otherwise, and (c) have not been advanced
in value or improved in condition abroad except by being assembled and except by operations incidental to
the assembly process, such as cleaning, lubricating, and painting.”
19 C.F.R. § 10.14(c)), states in part: Operations not incidental to the assembly process. Any significant
process, operation, or treatment other than assembly whose primary purpose is the fabrication, completion,
physical or chemical improvement of a component, or which is not related to the assembly process, whether
or not it effects a substantial transformation of the article, will not be regarded as incidental to the assembly
and will preclude the application of the exemption to such article. The following are examples of operations
not considered incidental to the assembly as provided under subheading 9802.00.80, Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (19 U.S.C. 1202): (1) Melting of exported ingots and pouring of the metal into
molds to produce cast metal parts. Therefore, the jewelry imported into the United States is not eligible for
the partial duty exemption under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS.
You have also inquired about the country of origin of the 14K Gold Alloy items and 14k mounting jewelry.
When determining the country of origin, the substantial transformation analysis is applicable. See, e.g.,
Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) H301619, dated November 6, 2018. 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, 681 F.2d 778 (C.C.P.A. 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).
Moreover, in New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N308134, dated December 23, 2019, CBP held that a gold
ring, cast in Hong Kong, and diamonds from India, which were set in China where the finishing processes
were performed, were not substantially transformed. Accordingly, CBP found that the country of origin of
the gold ring was Hong Kong, where the gold ring was cast. In NY N271750, dated January 13, 2016, gold
cast in the United States into rings was sent to the Dominican Republic to be set with melee diamonds,
solitaire diamonds, and other solitaire stones for polishing and setting of the diamonds and stones. After
assembling the rings in the Dominican Republic, the rings were sent back to the U.S. for final polishing. CBP
held that the setting of the diamonds and other stones onto gold ring castings of U.S. origin did not
substantially transform the rings into goods of the Dominican Republic. Accordingly, CBP found that the
country of origin of the final rings was the United States, where the gold was cast. See also NY N251883,
dated April 17, 2014.
As the gold grain alloy was melted, cast, and shaped into the mounts in Korea, the material was substantially
transformed in Korea and thus, the country of origin is Korea.
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/.
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 Vikki Lazaro at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division