The country of origin of a charge adapter set from Vietnam

N310494 March 31, 2020 OT:RR:NC:N2:220 CATEGORY: Origin Victor Yeh Protop International Inc. 10F-8, No. 237, Sec.1, Datong Road Xizhi, New Taipei City, 22161 Taiwan RE: The country of origin of a charge adapter set from Vietnam Dear Mr. Yeh: In your letter dated March 09, 2020 you requested a country of origin ruling on behalf of your client, Walgreen Co. The merchandise under consideration is identified as the Combo Pack Charge and Sync Set, which consists of a retail package containing a 1 A wall power adapter plug with a USB female connector, a 1 A universal 12 V socket car adapter with single USB female connector on the output side, and a 3-foot insulated electric cable that has a male USB Type-A connector on one end and a lightning-style connector on the other end. The subject set is used to charge certain personal electronics from the home, office, or vehicle. In your submission, you state that the wall power adapter plug is comprised of materials sourced from China that are assembled in Vietnam by soldering 43 components, such as resistors, capacitors, an integrated circuit, a fuse, diodes, and a LED onto two bare printed circuit boards. The female USB connector and wall socket terminals are then soldered onto the assembly and encapsulated in a plastic housing. You state that at various stages throughout the assembly process, testing and quality control procedures are conducted on the subassemblies as well as the finished product. You also state the car power adapter plug is made of the component materials that are sourced from China and the assembly process occurs in Vietnam by soldering 21 components, such as resistors, capacitors, an integrated circuit, a fuse, diodes, and a LED onto a doubled sided bare printed circuit board. The female USB connector, lens, and anode head are then soldered onto the case assembly and encapsulated in a plastic housing. Similar to the wall charger, testing and quality control procedures are conducted on the subassemblies and finished product throughout the assembly process. Lastly, concerning the assembly process of the 3-foot insulated electric cable, you state that the insulated wire and plastic injection materials are sourced from Vietnam, and the balance of materials, such as the C89 lightning-style connector, the USB-A connector, the insulating tape, and copper foil are all sourced from China. In Vietnam, the wire is cut to length and the connectors are soldered onto the individual conductors, the end connectors are encapsulated in plastic molding, and the cable assembly is tested. With regard to the origin of the Combo Pack Charge and Sync Set, 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 courts have held that a substantial transformation occurs when an article emerges from a process with a new name, character, or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 CCPA 267, C.A.D. 98 (1940); National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 CIT 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F. 2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993); Anheuser Busch Brewing Association v. The United States, 207 U.S. 556 (1908) and Uniroyal Inc. v. United States, 542 F. Supp. 1026 (1982). Based upon the facts presented and the pertinent authorities, it is the opinion of this office that the assembly process for the wall power adapter plug and the car power adapter plug, as described above, results in a substantial transformation of the Chinese components into a new and different article of commerce with a name, character, and use distinct from the individual components and bare printed circuit board. However, regarding the cable assembly, we are of the opinion that the addition of connectors on either end of the Vietnamese insulated wire is basic assembly and does not effect a substantial transformation stemming from the operations performed. As each article contained within the retail package is of Vietnamese origin, and the set is considered a product of Vietnam for origin and marking purposes upon importation into the United States. Importations of this product may be subject to the provisions of Section 133 of the Customs Regulations if they copy or simulate a registered trademark, trade name or copyright recorded with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. If you are an authorized importer of the product, we recommend notifying your local Customs office prior to importation. 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