OT:RR:NC:N2:201
Gerald Francese
TradeLaw PC
PO Box 1114, 110 Tom Harvey Rd.
Westerly, RI 02891
RE: The country of origin and marking of cylinder head assemblies for diesel trucks
Dear Mr. Francese:
In your letter dated January 30, 2026, you requested a country of origin and marking ruling for cylinder head
assemblies (cylinder heads) for diesel engines used in heavy trucks on behalf of your client, DPM PowerPro
LLC, located in Houston, Texas. You provided videos and documents showing the manufacturing process,
and a bill of materials showing the country of origin of each component and part.
The merchandise under consideration is described as cylinder head assemblies for diesel trucks. Cylinder
heads are core components of diesel engines used in heavy trucks. Located at the top of a diesel engine, the
cylinder heads serve as a critical part of a compression-ignition internal combustion piston engine. You state
that your client imports twelve (12) distinct cylinder head models (G02, G05, G06, G09, G10, G11, G12,
G13, G14, G15, G16, G17) which are produced by Yantai Jereh Power-Tech Company-China. The
differences in the various models are primarily the shape and dimensions. You provided a long list of
examples of heavy-duty engines, and vehicles your clients’ cylinder heads are designed for. These include:
Cummins ISX engine
The Cummins ISX engine
Freightliner Cascadia
Kenworth W900
The Peterbilt 387
You state that the cylinder heads are assembled in either the United Arab Emirates or Mexico with primarily
Chinese components and parts. According to your BOM, the remaining components are from Argentina and
Turkey.
You state that the cylinder heads are made from gray cast iron cast in China. “Gray Iron” is a type of cast
iron, characterized by a metallographic microstructure of flake graphite. The sand castings are then filled
with molten metal materials and milled to remove excess materials from the surface of the casting before
exporting for assembly.
The cylinder head manufacturing process, which you provided detailed video of, takes place in either the
United Arab Emirates or Mexico. Regardless of where production occurs, manufacturing contains the
following steps:
Machining the top surface and the holes on the top surface.
Machining the bottom surface and the holes on the bottom surface.
Drill oil passage holes.
Drill inclined oil holes.
Mill four side surfaces and all holes on four faces.
Machine injector sleeve holes, drilling, and tapping.
Machine camshaft holes.
Finish milling the bottom surface, finish reaming the locating pin holes, and finish boring the intake
manifold holes and seat ring holes.
Finish milling the recessed top surface and finish boring the exhaust manifold holes, seat ring holes,
and injector sleeve holes.
Apply anaerobic sealant to the bowl plugs, then press the 21 D28.75mm bowl plugs and 7 D44.6mm.
bowl plugs into the cylinder head.
Install the six sealing rings onto the six injector sleeves, apply anaerobic sealant to the injector sleeves,
and then press the injector sleeves into the cylinder head.
Roll and ream the six installed injector sleeves using a CNC machine tool.
Press the 24 valve guides, 12 intake valve seats, and 12 exhaust valve seats into the cylinder head.
Ream the 24 valve guides, 12 intake valve seats, and 12 exhaust valve inserts.
Cool 3 types of camshaft bushings, total 14 pieces, in liquid nitrogen, and press into the cylinder head.
Install 24 spring inserts onto valve guides; insert 12 intake valves and 12 exhaust valves into the valve
guides; and press the 24 valve stem seals onto the valve guides.
Install 24 valve springs into valve guides; place the 24 valve spring uppers seats on top of the valve
springs; and install the O-rings onto their corresponding sealing plugs and screw the sealing plugs into
the threaded holes.
Press 48 valve collets into the collet grooves on the valves.
Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 1304), provides that unless excepted, every
article of foreign origin imported into the United States 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 United States, the English name of the country of origin of the
article. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. § 1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able to
know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product.
The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by
knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should
influence his will.” See United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940).
Part 134 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Regulations (19 CFR 134) implements the
country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. 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.
A substantial transformation occurs when, as a result of manufacturing process, a new and different article
emerges, having a distinct name, character or use, which is different from that originally possessed by the
article or material before being subjected to the manufacturing process. See United States v.
Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940).
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).
With the facts and documentation presented, it is the opinion of this office that the manufacturing operations
of the cylinder head assemblies are substantial and meaningful, and that the individual parts are substantially
transformed into a finished product during the manufacturing process in United Arab Emirates or Mexico.
Thus, it is the opinion of this office that the country of origin of the completed articles will be either the
United Arab Emirates or Mexico, depending on where the processes listed above were performed.
You further request confirmation that the cylinder head assemblies may be marked “Product of Mexico” or
“Product of U.A.E.,” as appropriate.
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.
Part 134 of the Customs Regulations implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions
of 19 U.S.C. § 1304. Section 134.45(b) provides that abbreviations of country names “which unmistakably
indicate the name of a country … are acceptable. See 19 C.F.R. § 134.45(b). Variant spellings which clearly
indicate the English name of the country of origin such as ‘Brasil’ for Brazil and ‘Italie’ for Italy, are
acceptable. However, CBP has consistently denied the use of the abbreviation “U.A.E.” as abbreviation for
United Arab Emirates. See HQ 561083, dated November 5, 1998 (denial of “U.A.E.” as abbreviation for
United Arab Emirates); HQ 561997, dated March 4, 2001; and HQ 563047, dated July 22, 2004. Further, in
HQ H301905, dated February 28, 2019, CBP once again determined that the abbreviation of “U.A.E.” for the
United Arab Emirates was not acceptable for country of origin marking purposes.
Assuming all other requirements under Part 134 of the Customs Regulations are met, the proposed marking
of “Product of Mexico” for the cylinder heads assembled in Mexico, as described above, is acceptable under
19 U.S.C. § 1304; however, the proposed marking of “Product of U.A.E” for the cylinder heads assembled in
United Arab Emirates is not acceptable under 19 U.S.C. § 1304.
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 Matthew Sullivan at [email protected].
Sincerely,
(for)
James Forkan
Designated Official Performing the Duties of the Division Director
National Commodity Specialist Division