Reconsideration of NY N284246; country of origin marking of salmon from China

HQ H286250 June 20, 2017 CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:FTM H286250 GaK CATEGORY: Marking TARIFF NO.: 0304.81.50 Chris LaCroix Copper River Seafoods 1118 E. 5th Avenue Anchorage, AK 99501 RE: Reconsideration of NY N284246; country of origin marking of salmon from China Dear Mr. LaCroix:       This is in reply to your electronic request submitted on April 10, 2017, in which you requested reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N284246, dated April 6, 2017, which pertains to the country of origin marking of packaged marinated salmon. In that ruling, the National Commodity Specialist Division (“NCSD”) determined that the product was not substantially transformed in the United States, and that China is the appropriate country of origin of the marinated salmon. In your reconsideration request, you assert that when the salmon is cut into smaller pieces and marinated in the United States, it is substantially transformed into a product with a new name (.e.g. “Flavor Name” Marinated Salmon) and is used differently than the fillets prior to marinating. In support of your argument, you cite to NY G84908, dated January 23, 2001, and United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (1940). We disagree. A substantial transformation will not result from a minor manufacturing or combining process that leaves the identity of the article intact. See United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (1940). In numerous rulings, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) has held that fish that was headed and gutted to individual fillets were substantially transformed into a new and different product with a new name, character or use. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) 562708, dated June 13, 2003 citing Koru North America v. United States, 701 F. Supp. 229 (C.I.T. 1988); HQ 563499, dated June 23, 2006; and NY J81644, dated April 7, 2003. While we acknowledge that the salmon is substantially transformed in China, where it is thawed, filleted, frozen, and shipped back to the United States, we do not find that the salmon fillets are substantially transformed as a result of cutting, marinating and packaging. In NY J81644, CBP found that tuna loins and swordfish fillets imported from Singapore, then cut into smaller, portion size pieces were merely a final preparation to render the fillets more useful to the ultimate consumer. Furthermore, CBP found that an “addition of a flavoring would [not] substantially alter the character of the product.” Lastly, in NY G84908, CBP found that the catfish was substantially transformed as a result of thawing, cutting, marinating, battering/breading, freezing, and packaging. In contrast, the salmon at issue is imported in the form of fillets, then thawed, cut, marinated, and packaged, which does not constitute a substantial transformation. For all of the aforementioned reasons, we find that the marinated salmon is not substantially transformed in the United States. We therefore affirm NY N284246, dated April 6, 2017.  Sincerely, Myles B. Harmon, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division