The country of origin of pliers.

N307003 October 31, 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 October 24, 2019, on behalf of your client, Great Star Industrial USA, LLC, you requested a ruling on the country of origin of four different types of pliers. The pliers are identified as long nose pliers, linesman pliers, end nippers, and diagonal pliers. The features and characteristics of these pliers are as follows: Long nose pliers (also known as needle-nose pliers) are gripping, pinching, and holding pliers. They incorporate long thin jaws with a small cutting edge near the pliers’ joint. They are made of two pieces of steel, with each piece providing half of the handle and half of the working end. When joined together, the joint provides a fulcrum that transfers and increases the force applied to the handles by the user to the working end. Lineman’s pliers are a type of pliers used by linemen, electrical contractors and other tradesmen primarily for gripping, twisting, bending and cutting wire, cable and small metalwork components. Handles multiply the user’s force through leverage. They have a beveled cutting edge near the joint of the working end’s jaw and teeth for gripping at the end of the nose. End nippers, (also known as “nippers”) consist of two primary pieces, each piece consisting of both an upper or lower handle and the corresponding upper or lower working end connected via a fulcrum at the jaw. The end of the nipper is designed and used to “nip” or remove small amounts of a hard material, such as a piece of a tile that needs to be fitted around an odd or irregular shape. Diagonal pliers (also known as wire cutters, side-cutting pliers, and diagonal cutters) are pliers intended for cutting wire. The plane defined by the cutting edges of the jaws intersects the joint rivet at an angle or “on a diagonal”. The jaw edges are ground to a symmetrical “V” shape and they cut by indenting and wedging the wire apart. In your request, you provide two production-processing scenarios for the long nose pliers and one production-processing scenario for each of the other pliers, discussed hereafter. You contend 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. You propose two production-processing scenarios for the long nose pliers. The first scenario begins in Vietnam, where raw steel rods are drop forged (i.e., a process of heating metal and shaping it using a metal die cast) to make the rough shape of each handle and jaw. Then, each handle is die cut to form the top and bottom handle and jaw blanks. Burs are removed and holes are drilled into each piece so that they can be joined together. In addition, teeth are cut into them before they are sent to China. Then, in China, the handle blanks are heat treated, polished, laser-etched, then assembled together with a pin before rubber grips are slipped over the handles and retail packaging is completed. The second scenario you propose for the long nose pliers is nearly identical to the first scenario. The only difference is that the holes, drilled into each piece, would be drilled in China instead of Vietnam. You propose one production-processing scenario for the linesman’s pliers. In Vietnam, raw steel rods are drop forged to make the rough shape of each handle and jaw. Then, each handle is die cut to form the top and bottom handle and jaw blanks. Burs are removed. Then, in China, holes are drilled into each blank, and teeth are cut. The handle blanks are heat treated, polished, laser-etched, then assembled together with a pin before rubber grips are slipped over the handles and retail packaging is completed. The production-processing scenario for the end nippers begins in Vietnam, where raw steel rods are drop forged and molded into the two pieces. These two pieces are described as end nipper handles with working end blanks. They are also die cut and deburred in Vietnam. They are then sent to China where the fulcrum’s hole is drilled, they are heat treated and polished, then assembled by joining the two handles together with a pin. Soft handle grips are applied before retail packaging. Finally, you propose a production-processing scenario for the diagonal pliers. In Vietnam, raw steel rods are drop forged and molded to make the two handle and jaw pieces. These two pieces are also die-cut and deburred. Then, the items are sent to China where the pre-marked fulcrum hole is drilled before heat treatment and polishing. Finally, prior to retail packaging in China, the two main pieces are assembled together using a pin and a soft handle grip is applied. 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 and 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 constitute the essence of the finished pliers. In each of the proposed production-processing scenarios for the four pliers, raw steel is drop forged in Vietnam into plier handles and jaws that have the shape and form of the final product. The handles and jaws are also die cut and deburred in Vietnam. As a result of these operations, the handles and jaws are dedicated for use as pliers upon export from Vietnam. The Chinese processing consists of heat treating, possibly drilling the single fulcrum hole, polishing, and simple assembly with a pin and handle grips. 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 your proposed production-processing scenario 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