The country of origin of Calcium Hypochlorite tablets from India.

N322404 October 28, 2021 OT:RR:NC:N3:140 CATEGORY: Country of Origin Mr. Tim Phillips Norweco Inc. 220 REPUBLIC ST NORWALK, Ohio 44857 RE: The country of origin of Calcium Hypochlorite tablets from India. Dear Mr. Phillips: In your letter dated October 04, 2021, and the follow up request dated October 25, 2021, you requested a country of origin ruling determination on Calcium Hypochlorite tablets from India. The tablets are indicated for use in a variety of environments for purposes of sanitizing, and disinfecting. Based on the retail label and documentation from the manufacturer, the tablets consist of 65 percent Calcium Hypochlorite and 35 percent other ingredients. The other ingredients were provided in your request but are not specifically listed on the retail label. You have indicated that all ingredients in the powdered mixture originate in India. The only non-originating ingredient is a proprietary binder which is added during the tablet forming process in China. All ingredients are sourced from and mixed in India. Only the binder is non-originating. The specific binder is a trade secret that the compressed tablet company in China has not disclosed. The company in China which forms the tablets also provides the retail plastic bucket and lid. The Country of Origin for the binder, and the plastic buckets and lids are China. The process by which the tablets are made consists of, mixing the Calcium Hypochlorite powder and other cited ingredients in India. The mixed Calcium Hypochlorite powder mixture is sent to China. In China the mixture undergoes a tablet making procedure. The only ingredient which is added in China consists of the undisclosed binding agent. An automated tableting machine forms the tablets which are ejected into a plastic pail. The pail and its cover are also of Chinese origin. The full plastic pail is manually placed on a wood pallet, ready for shipment to the USA. 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. When considering a product that may be subject to antidumping, countervailing, or other safeguard measures, the substantial transformation analysis is applied to determine the country of origin. See 19 C.F.R. § 102.0; HQ 563205, dated June 28, 2006; see also Belcrest Linens v. United States, 741 F.2d 1368, 1370-71 (Fed. Cir. 1984) (finding that “the term ‘product of’ at the least includes manufactured articles of such country or area” and that substantial transformation “is essentially the test used…in determining whether an article is a manufacture of a given country”). 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).However, if the manufacturing or combining process is merely a minor one that leaves the identity of the article intact, a substantial transformation has not occurred. Uniroyal, Inc. v. United States, 3 CIT 220, 542 F. Supp. 1026, 1029 (1982), aff’d, 702 F.2d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 1983). Substantial transformation determinations are based on the totality of the evidence. See Headquarters Ruling (HQ) W968434, date January 17, 2007, citing Ferrostaal Metals Corp. v. United States, 11 CIT 470, 478, 664 F. Supp. 535, 541 (1987).Based on the information provided on the origin of the ingredients, and the processing performed, it is our opinion that the country of origin for the Calcium Hypochlorite tablets will be 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 Paul Hodgkiss at Paul.Hodgkiss@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division