OT:RR:NC:N4:415
Joaquin Barragan
R.L. Jones Customs House Broker
1610 Land Mark
San Diego, CA 92154
RE: The country of origin and eligibility of the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement
(USMCA) of reinforced plastic rods.
Dear Mr. Barragan:
In your letter dated September 4, 2025, you requested a country of origin ruling on behalf of your client,
ACCUMEX, LLC.
Images were provided in lieu of a sample.
The product under consideration is described as reinforced plastic rods.
The materials to manufacture these rods are all sourced from India. They include the following: glass epoxy
sheets, glass silicone sheets, glass polyester sheets, paper phenolic sheets, and cotton phenolic sheets.
These sheets will be processed in Mexico as follows:
1. Inspect the composite sheet stock.
2. Cut the sheets into rectangular form.
3. The corners are trimmed to form octagonal blanks.
4. The blanks are ground into round profiles.
5. They are finished to ensure a fine surface and a precise outer diameter.
In your submission, you indicated that you believe the finished rods are appropriately classified under
heading 3916. We disagree. The rods have been cut from sheet and then milled into rod shape. To be
classified in heading 3916, products must be obtained in a single operation and cannot be otherwise worked.
The Explanatory Notes for heading 3916 identify examples of “otherwise worked” as being “drilled, milled,
assembled by glueing or sewing, etc.” The formation of the rods involves a multistep process that includes
cutting, milling, and grinding. Therefore, they are excluded from classification within heading 3916. As
they are not more specifically provided for elsewhere, we find that they would be classified under heading
3926 as other articles of plastic.
Section 134.1(b), CBP Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” 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 the marking laws and regulations.
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
sections 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 and apparel goods which
are subject to the provisions of 19 CFR 102.21. See 19 CFR 102.11.
Applied in sequential order, 19 CFR 102.11(a) provides that the country of origin of a good is the country in
which:
(1) The good is wholly obtained or produced;
(2) The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or
(3) 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.
These reinforced rods are 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 this
article, and paragraph (a)(3) must be applied next to determine the origin of the finished articles. As
indicated above, these rods are classified under heading 3926. The tariff shift requirement in part 102.20 for
the articles of heading 3926 at issue states, “[a] change to heading 3922 through 3926 from any other
subheading, including another heading within that group, except for a change to heading 3926 from articles
of apparel and clothing accessories, other articles of plastics, or articles of other materials of headings 3901 to
3914 of heading 9619.”
As the plastic sheets of heading 3921 are manufactured into the finished rods in Mexico, we find that it meets
the required tariff shift, and therefore, in accordance with 19 CFR § 102.11(a)(3), the country of origin for
these rods would be Mexico.
The USMCA was signed by the Governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada on November 30,
2018. The USMCA was approved by the U.S. Congress with the enactment on January 29, 2020, of the
USMCA Implementation Act. General Note (“GN”) 11 of the HTSUS implements the USMCA. GN 11(b)
sets forth the criteria for determining whether a good is an originating good for purposes of the USMCA. GN
11(b) states, in relevant part:
For the purposes of this note, a good imported into the customs territory of the United States from the
territory of a USMCA country, as defined in subdivision (l) of this note, is eligible for the preferential
tariff treatment provided for in the applicable subheading and quantitative limitations set forth in the
tariff schedule as a “good originating in the territory of a USMCA country” only if –
(i) the good is a good wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or more
USMCA countries;
(ii) the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries,
exclusively from originating materials;
(iii) the good is a good produced entirely in the territory of one or more USMCA countries
using non-originating materials, if the good satisfies all applicable requirements set forth in
this note (including the provisions of subdivision (o));
We next turn to subdivision (o) which provides for change in tariff classification rules. The applicable rule of
origin for merchandise under chapter 39 is located within GN 11 (o), HTSUS, which provides in relevant
part, the following tariff shift, “[a] change to headings 3916 through 3926 from any other heading, including
another heading within that group.”
Again, we find that these reinforced plastic rods of heading 3926 make the needed tariff shift and would
remain qualified originating goods. As such, they are eligible for preferential treatment under the USMCA.
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 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 Regulations (19 CFR 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 Kristopher Burton at [email protected].
Sincerely,
(for)
Denise Faingar
Designated Official Performing the Duties of the Division Director
National Commodity Specialist Division