The country of origin of an adjustable wrench.

N306211 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 an adjustable wrench. Dear Mr. Cunningham: In your letter dated September 11, 2019, on behalf of your client, Great Star Industrial USA, LLC, you requested a ruling on the country of origin for an adjustable wrench. The merchandise, identified as an adjustable wrench, is commonly called a crescent wrench. It is an open-end wrench with an adjustable jaw size that can be used with different sizes of hexagonal fastener heads on nuts, bolts, screws, and the like. The adjustable wrench has a fixed jaw and a movable jaw that can be adjusted by turning a worm screw (knurl) that is incorporated into the tool. In your request, you describe the processing steps that will occur in China and Vietnam. You state that in Vietnam, raw steel rods are drop forged and molded to make the two main rough forging of the wrench. One part is the handle and fixed, upper jaw (hereinafter referred to as the handle/fixed jaw). The other part is the adjustable jaw. After forging and molding, they are stamped to provide handle grooves and size markings. Burrs are removed. The teeth are cut into the adjustable jaw. Four holes are cut into the handle/fixed jaw. These holes allow for insertion of the adjustable jaw into the handle/fixed jaw and the pinhole for mounting the knurl into the knurl hole. The parts are then sent to China, where they are heat-treated, polished, chrome-plated and marked with nut sizes. They are then assembled with a Chinese-origin worm screw (knurl), pin, and spring. A Chinese-origin plastic comfort handle cover may or may not be added prior to retail packaging. 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, it is the wrench’s handle/fixed jaw and adjustable jaw that impart the essential essence of the finished wrench. Based on the provided description of the assembly and processing operations performed in China, the handle/fixed jaw and adjustable jaw are not substantially changed by the addition of the remaining components nor are the assembly operations complex enough so as to transform the handle/fixed jaw and adjustable jaw into a new article. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the country of origin of the adjustable wrench is 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