THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF FINISHED ROLLS OF LIGHTWEIGHT THERMAL PAPER

N030222 July 2, 2008 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N2:234 CATEGORY: MARKING Mr. Robert Stang Greenberg Traurig 2101 L Street, NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20037 RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF FINISHED ROLLS OF LIGHTWEIGHT THERMAL PAPER Dear Mr. Stang: This is in response to your letter dated May 23, 2008, on behalf of your clients Shanghai Hanhong Paper Co., Ltd., Hanhong International Limited and Hong Kong Hanhong Co., Ltd. (together, “Hanhong”), requesting a ruling on the country of origin marking requirements for imported finished rolls of lightweight thermal paper. A marked sample was not submitted with your letter for review. You outline a scenario in which large rolls of lightweight thermal paper weighing approximately 58 g/m2 or less will be manufactured in Country A (Germany or South Korea). The manufacturing process in Country A is that jumbo rolls of paper have thermal active coating applied to one or both sides of the paper. The coating is a mixture of dye and developer that reacts and forms an image when heat is applied. This merchandise is the type that is normally used in point-of-sale applications (e.g. ATM receipts, credit card receipts, gas pump receipts, retail store receipts, etc.). The jumbo rolls of lightweight thermal paper will then be shipped to facilities in China where they will be slit to thinner widths and rolled to an appropriate length for the lightweight thermal paper’s intended end use. Also, an insert is placed in the lightweight thermal paper roll enabling the product to be placed on a spool or dispenser in various machines. The finished rolls of lightweight thermal paper will be packaged and shipped to customers in the United States from China. 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. AnheuserBusch 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 slitting of the rolls and adding an insert so the lightweight thermal paper can be used with the appropriate machine do not result in a substantial transformation. The smaller rolls of lightweight thermal paper do not have a distinctive name, character or use different from the jumbo rolls of lightweight thermal paper, and therefore is a good of Country A for marking purposes. The merchandise in question may be subject to antidumping duties or countervailing duties. Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Import Administration in the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection. You can contact them at http://www.trade.gov/ia/ (click on “Contact Us”). For your information, you can view a list of current AD/CVD cases at the United States International Trade Commission website at http://www.usitc.gov (click on “Antidumping and countervailing duty investigations”), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using the AD/CVD Search tool at http://www.cbp.gov (click on “Import” and “AD/CVD”). 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 Patricia Wilson at 646-733-3037. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division