The country of origin of electric motors and the applicability of certain trade remedies under Section 301

N308701 January 17, 2020 CLA-2-85:OT:RR:NC:N2:220 CATEGORY: Origin Lauren Wyszomierski White & Case LLP 701 13th Street NW Washington, DC 20005 RE: The country of origin of electric motors and the applicability of certain trade remedies under Section 301 Dear Ms. Wyszomierski: In your letter dated December 24, 2019 on behalf of your client, Midea India Private Limited you requested a ruling on the country of origin and application of Section 301 additional duties for an electric motor. The merchandise under consideration is identified as the Electric Motor, Part Number YXB-185-4-1L, which is described as an asynchronous 187 Watt electric motor that consists of the stator subassembly, the rotor subassembly, the end covers, various hardware, and the pulley. The subject motor is assembled in India and is intended said to be used with washing machines. In your request you state that the stator subassembly is manufactured in India by stamping the slits from steel coils that are then pressed into a stator core. The stator core is then laminated, insulated, wire-wound, and electrical connections are added. Once the assembly operations are complete, the stator subassembly wiring is dressed and secured. The rotor subassembly is also said to be manufactured in India by stamping slits from steel coils that are then pressed, laminated, etc. to produce a rotor core. The rotor core is then placed in a die-casting machine where molten aluminum is forced into the cavities to produce a squirrel cage rotor. The shaft is then hydraulically pressed into the rotor and the assembly is shaped and finished by a lathing machine to produce a rotor subassembly. After the stator and rotor subassemblies are produced, you state they are mounted inside cast aluminum end covers, which are also manufactured in India, along with parts and hardware of various origins to produce an electric motor. Throughout the production process, you state the subassemblies are inspected and tested. 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. The “country of origin” is defined in 19 CFR 134.1(b) as “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; however, for a good of a NAFTA country, the NAFTA Marking Rules will determine the country of origin.” 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). With regard to the origin of the subject electric motor, in our view and based on the process you describe, the motor assembly operations performed in India consisting of joining an Indian origin stator, rotor, and end-cap subassemblies, produce an electric motor of Indian origin. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the Electric Motor Part Number YXB-185-4-1L, as described, will have a country of origin of India for origin and marking purposes and is not subject to Section 301 trade remedies upon importation into the United States. 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 Karl Moosbrugger at karl.moosbrugger@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division