The country of origin of hammers.

N309499 February 27, 2020 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 hammers. Dear Mr. Cunningham: In your letter dated February 4, 2020, on behalf of your client, Great Start Tools, you requested a ruling on the country of origin of hammers. The imported articles are hammers with steel heads. At the time of the importation, the hammers will have the following head types: claw, rip, or framing. They will also vary in weight, ranging from 8oz to 28oz. You propose two production scenarios for the hammers. In the first scenario, the hammer’s steel head is made in Vietnam, and then finished in China. In Vietnam, raw steel rods from China, Vietnam or other global sources are drop forged and die cut to make the hammer head, complete with the final shape, size, and form of the imported hammer’s head. In Vietnam, the hammer head is further stamped and deburred. The “V” of the claw is present, as is the final driving head. A hole exists where the handle will be attached, but the handle is not attached or made in Vietnam. Subsequent to the Vietnamese processing described above, the steel hammer head is sent to China where it is heat-treated, polished, printed with its weight, plated, then finally assembled to a fiberglass, wood, or steel tube handle of Chinese origin. In the second scenario, the hammer’s head and handle is made in Vietnam into a single piece of steel, and then finished in China. In Vietnam, raw steel rods from China, Vietnam or other global sources are drop forged and die cut to make the hammer head with handle. The head already shows its final shape, size, and form of the imported hammer. The handle is cut to final length, but lacks a comfort grip. The hammer is further stamped and deburred. The “V” of the claw is present, as is the final driving head. It is then sent to China where it is heat-treated, polished, printed, and plated. A comfort grip comprised of a coating of plastic and rubber is applied to the steel handle portion of the tool. With regard to your request for the appropriate country of origin for the finished hammers, 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 forging of hammer heads in both production scenarios that impart the essence of finished hammers. In Vietnam, the hammer heads are forged and take on the shape and size of finished hammer heads. Based on the provided description of the assembly and finishing operations performed in China, the forged hammer heads are not substantially changed so as to transform them into a new article with a different name, character or use. Additionally, the hammer heads are not substantially transformed by the attachment of the fiberglass, wood, or steel handles as described in your first production scenario. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that, for tariff purposes, the finished hammers should have a country of origin of 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