The country of origin of a power adapter

N323307 January 6, 2022 OT:RR:NC:N2:220 CATEGORY: Origin Emily Wang Protop International Inc. 10F-8, No. 237, Sec. 1, Datong Road, Xizhi District New Taipei City, 221431 Taiwan RE: The country of origin of a power adapter Dear Ms. Wang: In your letter dated December 20, 2021, you requested a country of origin ruling on behalf of your client, Amazon Fulfillment Service, Inc. The merchandise under consideration is identified as the 12-Watt Single Port USB Wall Charger (power adapter), ASIN # B0773J79KC, which is described as a 2.4 Amp rectifier having a single USB socket connector on one side and a foldable two-prong electrical plug on the other. The subject power adapter is intended to be used for charging personal electronics and is comprised of a plastic molded housing containing a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) and plug terminals. Based on the information supplied, the power adapter is made of components sourced from China and Vietnam and assembled in Vietnam. The PCBA is manufactured in Vietnam from a bare printed circuit board, integrated circuits, resistors, a fuse, and capacitors circuit by a surface mount and hole soldering processes to produce a PCBA. Also in Vietnam, the PCBA assembled into the plastic housing after the wires are soldered onto the plug terminals. The power adapter is inspected and tested prior to ultrasonically welding the enclosure and final packaging. 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 test for determining whether a substantial transformation will occur is whether an article emerges from a process with a new name, character, or 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). Regarding the country of origin of the Power Adapter, in our view the assembly of the PCBA in Vietnam by soldering the individual components onto the bare board results in a substantial transformation of the components to produce a PCBA of Vietnamese origin. Furthermore, it is the opinion of this office that the PCBA, which functions to convert the input voltage and control the electrical charging of the attached electronic device via the USB socket, provides the essence of the electrical charging device. As such, we find that the components that make up the Power Adapter are transformed in Vietnam into a new and different article of commerce with a name, character, and use distinct from the article exported. Thus, the 12-Watt Single Port USB Wall Charger is considered a product of Vietnam for origin and marking purposes at 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