The country of origin of pliers.

N306045 September 23, 2019 CLA-2-82:OT:RR:NC:N1:118 CATEGORY: Country of Origin Mr. M. Jason Cunningham Sonnenberg & Cunningham PA 780 Fifth Ave. South Suite 200 Naples FL 34102 RE: The country of origin of pliers. Dear Mr. Cunningham: In your letter dated August 29, 2019, on behalf of your client, Great Star Industrial USA, LLC, you requested a ruling on the country of origin for pliers. The merchandise under consideration is identified as tongue-and-groove pliers and a long nose locking pliers. The tongue-and-groove pliers are a type of slip-joint pliers, and are also referred to as groove-joint pliers. They will be imported into the United Sates in 6.5”, 8”, 10”, 12” and 16”. These pliers consist of two handles with grooved jaws and slots that are held together by a pin and rivet screw, which provides a fulcrum to allow for gripping, holding, and turning. The long nose locking pliers consists of relatively long and thin gripping jaws. They can be locked into position to maintain a grip, hold and apply pressure on a workpiece. The locking feature uses an over-center toggle action to lock the jaws without the need for continued pressure from the tool operator. One side of the handle includes a bolt that is used to adjust the spacing of the jaws. The other side of the handle includes a lever to push the two sides of the handles apart to unlock the pliers. In your request, you provide three processing scenarios for the various components, discussed hereafter, and assert that the pliers produced are of Vietnam origin. You state that a substantial transformation occurs in Vietnam and that the Chinese components and processing does not substantially transform the Vietnamese components of the pliers. In the first scenario, you set forth the processing steps for groove joint pliers. You state that in Vietnam, raw steel is die cut and drop forged to form the top and bottom handle and jaw blanks. Burrs are removed prior to shipment to China. In China, the handle blanks are further machined to add a channel-slot to the top handle and mill teeth into both jaws. They are heat treated for hardness, plated for corrosion resistance and polished. They are then assembled together with a pin and rivet. Plastic covers are added to the handles for comfort and a secure grip. In the second scenario, you set forth the processing steps for groove joint pliers. You state that in Vietnam, raw steel is die cut and drop forged to form the top and bottom handles and jaws. The slot-channel is die-cut into the top handles. The fulcrum hole is cut into the lower handles, which has the tongue formed. This mates with the top handle’s grooves to allow the pliers to be adjustable. Grooves are then cut into the top handles. Teeth are milled into the top and bottom jaws. Burrs are removed. In China, the handles are further heat-treated and polished, then assembled using a pin rivet. They are laser etched with a logo and plastic covers are added to the handles for comfort and a secure grip. In the third scenario, you set forth the processing steps for a long nose locking pliers. You state that in Vietnam, steel rods are drop forged and die cut to make the plier’s top and bottom jaws. The jaws are drilled with holes for assembly and functionality. Finer and courser teeth are added to the jaws. Also in Vietnam, sheet metal is cut and stamped to make both handles. The top handle is open on the bottom and front, with a hole for the adjusting bolt at the other end. The bottom handle has two set of holes drilled. In China, the toggle and lever are stamped from steel. They are heat treated, polished, plated with nickel and assembled together along with rivets, a spring, the adjusting bolt, and two plastic handle covers. With regard to your request for the appropriate country of origin of the pliers, 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; The test for determining whether a substantial transformation will occur is whether an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use, different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. See Texas Instruments Inc. v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 151 (1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 C.I.T. 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993). 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, and assembly operations that are minimal will generally not result in a substantial transformation. In our view, the pliers’ handles and jaws impart the essence of the finished pliers. Based on the provided description of the assembly and processing operations performed in China, the handles and jaws are not substantially changed by the addition of the remaining components nor are the assembly operations complex enough so as to transform the handles and jaws into a new article. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the pliers described in the three scenarios are country of origin Vietnam. 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 Anthony E. Grossi at anthony.e.grossi@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division