The country of origin of double-end flare nut wrench

N314491 September 18, 2020 CLA-2-82:OT:RR:NC:N1:118 CATEGORY: Country of Origin Mr. Jie Tan JT Law Services, PC 901 North Broadway White Plains, NY 10603 RE: The country of origin of double-end flare nut wrench Dear Mr. Tan: In your letter dated September 9, 2020, on behalf of your client, Jiangsu Sainty International Group Jiangdu Tools Co., Ltd (JSIGJT), you requested a ruling on the country of origin of a double-end flare nut wrench. The wrench is made of a single piece of chrome vanadium steel. It has an elongated body with hexagonal or octagonal shaped ends and a ridged center. The wrench is designed for use with a variety of bolts. In your request you provide a manufacturing process for the double-end flare nut wrench, discussed hereafter. You contend that the finished tool is of Indian origin. You state that a substantial transformation occurs in India and that the Chinese processing does not substantially transform the Indian components. The manufacturing process begins in India, where chrome vanadium steel alloy rods are cut into bars of specific lengths. Each bar is then drop-forged into individual flattened pieces. Loop-shaped ends are then punched into each piece to form a hexagonal or octagonal shape. The pieces are then shipped to China where they are heat-treated, polished and electroplated with layers of nickel and chrome. Finally, the finished wrenches are packaged together for retail sale and shipment to the United Sates. With regard to your request for the appropriate country of origin of the double-end flare nut wrench, 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 are considered in order to conclude whether a product with a new name, character, and use has been produced. These factors include the components used to create the product and manufacturing processes that these components undergo. No one factor is decisive, and minimal processing and/or assembly operations will generally not result in a substantial transformation. In our view, the cut, drop-forged and punched pieces of steel that are exported from India embody the essential form of the final double-end flare nut wrench. The Chinese processing operations are not complex and do not substantially transform the piece into a new article. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the double-end flare nut wrench described in your proposed production-processing scenario is country of origin India. 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