The country of origin of a flex handle

N313164 July 24, 2020 CLA-2-84:OT:RR:NC:N1:104 CATEGORY: Country of Origin Andrew Bisbas Lowenstein Sandler 220 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20037 RE: The country of origin of a flex handle Dear Mr. Bisbas: In your letter dated July 13, 2020, you requested a country of origin ruling on behalf of your client, Tractor Supply Company. The subject flex handle is a hand tool composed of a long handle/neck with a hinged-joint head that is used to tighten or loosen fasteners at various angles. The tool’s head fits onto fasteners via flex handle socket attachments of various sizes that are not imported with this product or included with this product when it is sold (the sockets are bought separately and used in association with the flex handle). When the tool is grasped by the handle and its hinged-joint head (with socket) is attached to a fastener, it can be positioned at various angles in order to provide the torque necessary to tighten or loosen the fastener. The applicable subheading for the flex handle will be 8466.10.0175, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Parts and accessories suitable for use solely or principally with the machines of headings 8456 to 8465, including work or tool holders, self-opening dieheads, dividing heads and other special attachments for the machines; tool holders for any type of tool for working in the hand: Tool holders and self-opening dieheads: Other”. The rate of duty will be 3.9 percent ad valorem. You indicate that the cut, steel bar is sourced from China and then shipped to South Korea, where it will be forged into the final shape of the flex handle, including its handle/neck and two-pronged head. Then the flex handle is sent to China where it is further machined, heat-treated, plated, and where a China-origin steel square head component is added to the head to complete the hinged-joint mechanism. The flex handle is then packaged and shipped to the United States. With regard to your request for the appropriate country of origin of the flex handle, 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 this instance, it is this office’s opinion that the flex handle’s manufacturing operations in South Korea provide the essence of the flex handle. The forged flex handle is dedicated for use as a flex handle upon export from South Korea. Based on the provided description of the assembly and processing operations performed in China, the flex handle is not substantially changed by the addition of the remaining components nor are the assembly operations complex enough so as to transform the flex handle into a new article. It is not substantially changed by the addition of the Chinese fabrications or the minor assembly operations performed in China. In view of these facts, the country of origin is South Korea. Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current. 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 Denise Hopkins at denise.hopkins@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division