COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS AND ASSEMBLED IN THE UNITED STATES

N248226 December 3, 2013 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N1:110 CATEGORY: MARKING Mr. Jeff Russell Camco Manufacturing, Inc. 121 Landmark Drive Greensboro, NC 27409 RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS AND ASSEMBLED IN THE UNITED STATES Dear Mr. Russell: This is in response to your letter dated November 15, 2013, requesting a ruling on whether imported electrical components are required to be individually marked with the country of origin if it is later to be processed in the U.S. by a U.S. manufacturer. Marked samples were submitted with your letter for review and will be returned to you. The electrical components will be used in the manufacturing of the “Power Defender”, a surge protector device that is primarily used with an RV (Recreational Vehicle). The electrical components will be imported from China, India and Taiwan. The components from China will include a top and bottom plastic housing, a printed circuit board, a 3-pole contactor, a receptacle head assembly, a plug head assembly, an 8-pin with LEDs wire harness, a 4-pin with female connector wire harness, #6 19x1 inch Phillips pan head black screw and an O-rings. The component from India is an 8 GA nylon butt connector and from Taiwan is the #8 16X3/8 inches Phil Pan STL Zinc Screw. In addition to the foreign components, Camco’s U.S. manufactured components will be added in the production of the Power Defender. The U.S. components are a ground wire assembly, a contractor jumper wire, a contractor Varistor pigtail assembly, a PLS-30 Amp voltage defender base label, a PLS-30 Amp voltage cover label and a RTV silicone adhesive calk. From the samples and processing information that you have provided, the components will be imported from China, India and Taiwan to Camco Manufacturing, Inc., where the foreign and the U.S. manufactured components will be assembled together to manufacture the Power Defender, surge protector device. The primary function of the surge protector device is to disconnect power to the RV when it senses the voltage supply is too high or too low. The device will automatically reconnect the power once the voltage is within an acceptable range. It uses a printed circuit board to monitor the power and connects/disconnects power to the RV by energizing/de-energizing a contractor. It also has a varistors wired in parallel to power supply wiring to protect power surges and LED lights wired to indicate a miss-wired receptacle. 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, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), mandates that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. must be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. Section 134.1(d) defines the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. 19 CFR 134.1(d)(1) states that if an imported article will be used in manufacture, the manufacturer may be the ultimate purchaser if he subjects the imported article to a process which results in a substantial transformation of the article. The case of U.S. v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940), provides that an article used in manufacture which results in an article having a name, character or use differing from that of the constituent article will be considered substantially transformed and that the manufacturer or processor will be considered the ultimate purchaser of the constituent materials. In such circumstances, the imported article is excepted from marking and only the outermost container is required to be marked. See, 19 CFR 134.35. In this case, the imported electrical components are substantially transformed as a result of the U.S. processing, and therefore the U.S. manufacturer is the ultimate purchaser of the imported electrical components and under 19 CFR 134.35 only the containers which reach the ultimate purchaser are required to be marked with the country of origin. It appears, however, that your interest may be whether the retail package of the Power Defender may be marked to show the United States as the country of origin. The determination of whether a product may be marked with indications of U.S. origin is under the primary jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission. Consequently, any inquiries regarding the use of phrases reflecting U.S. origin should be directed to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Division of Enforcement, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. Information can also be found at the FTC website at www.ftc.gov. 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 Hope Abada at (646) 733-3016. Sincerely, Gwenn Klein Kirschner Acting Director National Commodity Specialist Division