The country of origin of coconut sugar from Sri Lanka.

N308862 February 3, 2020 CLA-2-17:OT:RR:NC:N2:232 CATEGORY: Marking, Origin Kim Norton Spiral Foods 4/56-72 John St, Leichhardt Sydney Australia RE: The country of origin of coconut sugar from Sri Lanka. Dear Ms. Norton: In your letter dated January 10, 2019 you requested a ruling on the country of origin and marking of coconut sugar. The subject merchandise is coconut sugar. The product does not contain any flavors, colors or additives. It is made from 100% organic coconut sap and is processed into 100% organic coconut sugar. Coconut pre-sap is extracted from the bud flowers of coconut palm trees grown in the Philippines.  The pre-sap is boiled to a semi-solid viscosity, having a moisture content of 8 to 10 percent and a Brix value of 65 to 67 degrees.  This viscous sap is then packed and delivered to Sri Lanka for further processing.               Upon arrival in Sri Lanka, the coconut sap (now in a syrup form) is filtered, boiled again and evaporated until completely dry.  It is then granulated into coconut sugar crystals and packed in final 1-pound retail units in plastic stand-up pouches ready for export. 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), in pertinent part, 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.” 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 this instance, the question is whether the filtering, boiling and evaporation process performed in Sri Lanka is a substantial transformation. The boiling and evaporation process changed the “fundamental character of the product”. In other words, a substantial transformation occurred because the resulting product possesses a new name, character or use. Thus, Sri Lanka is the country of origin of the coconut sugar. The imported coconut sugar must be marked to state that the country of origin is Sri Lanka. This merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act) which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling FDA at telephone number (301) 575-0156, or at the website www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html. 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 Frank Troise at frank.l.troise@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division