The country of origin of hydraulic roof supports from the United Kingdom

N302140 April 26, 2019 CLA-2-84:OT:RR:NC:N1:104 CATEGORY: Origin Mr. Michael Lowell Reed Smith LLP 1301 K Street NW Suite 1000-East Tower Washington, DC 20005 RE: The country of origin of hydraulic roof supports from the United Kingdom Dear Mr. Lowell: In your letter dated December 7, 2018, on behalf of Joy Global Underground Mining LLC, you requested a country of origin ruling. Hydraulic roof supports are used in an underground coal mining operation referred to as longwall mining. These supports control the strata (“roof”) above the immediate working area by applying force onto the roof using the hydraulic cylinders. The hydraulic cylinders also incorporate an advance ram which is used to advance the longwall mining machines forward as coal is extracted from the coal face. The system’s electronic controls are said to allow the longwall mining machines, i.e., the shearers, the conveyor, and the roof supports, “to interface with each other without manual intervention”. The supports are comprised of the following: (1) the hydraulic cylinder system; (2) the electronic controls; and (3) the steel fabrications or “structures” (a base, a canopy, a rear shield, and links). Items 1 and 2 are said to be manufactured in the United Kingdom from components principally of United Kingdom origin. Item 3 is manufactured in China. The castings for the fabrications are said to be supplied by casting manufacturer located in the United Kingdom. The engineering design, manufacturing drawings and manufacturing quality control processes are also said to be supplied from the United Kingdom. Items 1 and 2 are shipped to China where they are assembled together with the Chinese steel fabrications. With regard to your request for the appropriate country of origin of the hydraulic roof supports, 19 C.F.R. § 134.1(b) provides in pertinent part as follows: Country of origin means 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; As stated in HQ 735009 dated July 30, 1993, “The country of origin is the country where the article last underwent a “substantial transformation”, that is, processing which results in a change in the article's name, character, or use”. In addition, the court has held that “A substantial transformation occurs when an article emerges from a manufacturing process with a name, character, and use that differs from the original material subjected to the processing.”  However, if the manufacturing or combining process is merely a minor one that leaves the identity of the article intact, a substantial transformation has not occurred. In order to determine whether a substantial transformation occurs when components of various origins are assembled into completed products, all factors such as the components used to create the product and manufacturing processes that these components undergo are considered in order to determine whether a product with a new name, character and use has been produced. No one factor is decisive. Assembly operations that are minimal will generally not result in a substantial transformation. Essential character may be considered when determining whether a assembly or processing has substantially transformed the identity of a product. In Uniroyal, Inc. v. United States, , the court held that as the imported shoe uppers added to an outer sole in the United States were the “very essence of the finished shoe”, the character of the product remained unchanged and did not undergo substantial transformation in the United States. Also, in National Juice Products Association v. United States, the court held that imported orange juice concentrate “imparts the essential character” to the completed orange juice. It was determined that product had not been substantially transformed into a product of the United States.In this instance, it is this office’s opinion that hydraulic cylinder system provides the essence of a hydraulic roof support. It is not substantially changed by either the addition of the Chinese fabrications or the minor assembly operations performed in China. The hydraulic cylinder system contains the “enabling technology” that provides the essential operation elements for the system to work. In view of these facts, the country of origin is the United Kingdom. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs 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, contact National Import Specialist Patricia O’Donnell at patricia.k.odonnell@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division