The country of origin of a power supply.

N313742 August 17, 2020 OT:RR:NC:N2:220 CATEGORY: Origin Morgan Mo High Power Electronics Co., Ltd. 6F-6, No., 21, Lane 583, Ruiguang Rd Taipei City Taiwan RE: The country of origin of a power supply. Dear Mr. Mo: In your letter dated August 05, 2020 you requested a country of origin ruling on behalf of your client, Digital Storm. The item under consideration is identified as the 850W Switching Power Supply, Model # HP1-F850GD-F14C. The Power Supply is described as a steel enclosure containing a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), a fan, connectors, and multiple output wire harnesses for connecting to various components within an automatic data processing (ADP) machine. In your request, you state that the power supply is assembled in Vietnam by soldering components of various origins, such as resistors, capacitors, integrated circuits, fuses, diodes, etc., onto a bare PCB. Once the board is completed and function tested, the PCBA, which functions to convert the AC input voltage to multiple DC outputs for use within the ADP machine, is mounted inside an enclosure, a fan is installed, various wiring and connectors are attached, and the finished product is 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.” 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, it is the opinion of this office that the assembly of the PCBA by surface mounting and through hole insertion of integrated circuits, transistors, resistors, transformers, capacitors, etc. onto a bare PCB and the final assembly operations result in a substantial transformation of the individual components into a new and different article of commerce with a new name, character, and use. As such, the 850W Switching Power Supply, Model # HP1-F850GD-F14C is considered a product of Vietnam for origin and marking purposes at the time of 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