The country of origin of a power adapter

N323327 January 7, 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 21, 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 W Straight Cable Lightning Car Charger (Power Adapter), ASIN No. B071KBYFKS, which is described as a 5 V, 2.4 Amp rectifier having a 12 V vehicle accessory electrical plug on one side and a three-foot electrical cable having a C89 connector permanently attached on the other end. The subject power adapter is intended to be used in a vehicle for charging electronic devices and is comprised of a plastic molded housing containing a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), wires, plug terminals and straight insulated cable. In your submission, you state the power adapter is made of components sourced from China and Vietnam and assembled in Vietnam. The assembly process begins with the manufacturing of the printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) in Vietnam by surface mounting and through hole soldering of individual components, such as integrated circuits, resistors, a fuse, capacitors, etc. onto a bare printed circuit board. Also in Vietnam, the anode head and Chinese origin cable with C89 connector are attached onto the case assembly along with the PCBA, which is then encapsulated in a plastic housing by means of ultrasonic welding. The power adapter is tested and inspected throughout the assembly process, and then packaged for importation into the United States. 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 provides the essence of the electrical charging device because it is the article within the assembly that converts the electricity and supplies it to the attached personal electronics via the C89 connector. 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 W Straight Cable Lightning Car Charger, ASIN No. B071KBYFKS, 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