MAR-2 RR:NC:1:118 G89620
Mr. John Burns
Corporate Manager
Schenker, Inc.
Alexander Court One (Bay 1-5)
850 Calcon Hook Road
Sharon Hill, PA 19079
RE: The applicability of subheading 9802.00.60 and Country of Origin Marking of beryllium copper wire from France.
Dear Mr. Burns:
This is in response to your letter dated March 28, 2001 requesting a classification ruling and country of origin marking ruling on behalf of NGK Metals Corp., for their imported product. A marked sample was not submitted with your letter for review.
You state that the NGK Sweetwater, TN facility processes beryllium copper billets, approximately 5” in diameter and 17” in length into wire base material of .59” and .63” diameters. The production process involves extrusion, cutting, coiling, cleaning and sometimes peeling. This United States (U.S.) origin beryllium copper wire is shipped to France for further processing. In France, the product is rolled, annealed, pickled, welded and straightened. The resulting wire diameters will range from .067” to .11” and the rod diameters will range from .0626” to .5”. Upon importation into the United States, the beryllium copper wire coils and rod lengths are sold to customers who are unknown at the time of importation. However, the U.S. customers will cut, machine, clean, plate and assemble the material to adapt it to their needs.
Subheading 9802.00.60, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), provides for any article of metal (as defined in U.S. note 3(e) of this subchapter) manufactured in the United States or subjected to a process of manufacture in the United States, if exported for further processing, and if the exported article as processed outside the United States, or the article which results from the processing outside the United States, is returned to the United States for further processing. Articles of metal satisfying these statutory requirements may be classified under this tariff provision with duty only on the value of such processing performed outside of the U.S., provided there is compliance with the documentary requirements of section 10.9, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.9).
To meet the requirements of "further processing" some operation must be applied to the metal that will change its shape or form or impart new and different characteristics, which becomes an integral part of the metal itself.
Based upon the information submitted, rolling and straightening the U.S. origin beryllium copper wire satisfies the foreign “further processing” requirement of subheading 9802.00.60, HTS. Entitlement to the partial duty exemption under subheading 9802.00.60, HTS, is contingent upon compliance with the documentary requirements of 19 C.F.R. §10.9 and meeting the requirements of the “further processing” of the wire here in the United States. You must satisfy the director at the port of entry that the actual performance of the subsequent processing of the wire in the U.S. was performed within a reasonable period of time.
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.
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; however, for a good of a NAFTA country, the NAFTA Marking Rules will determine the country of origin." For tariff purposes, the courts have held that a substantial transformation occurs if a new and different article emerges having a distinctive name, character or use. Anheuser Busch Brewing Association v. The United States, 207 U.S. 556 (1908) and Uniroyal Inc. v. United States, 542 F. Supp. 1026 (1982).
In this case, the further processing does not result in a substantial transformation. The new dimensions associated with the rod or wire do not provide a distinctive name, character or use different from the U.S. manufactured beryllium copper wire, and therefore is a good of the United States for marking purposes. Accordingly, it will not be required to have any country of origin marking pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1304 when imported into the United States. If a phrase such as “Made in the U.S.A.” is proposed to be marked on the imported products, we advise you to contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Division of Enforcement, 6th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20508, since use of the phrase “Made in U.S.A.” is under the FTC’s jurisdiction. The Customs Service does not have the authority to approve such a marking.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 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 Kathy Campanelli at 212-637-7025.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division