The country of origin of a utility knife.

N326398 June 24, 2022 CLA-2-82:OT:RR:NC:N4:415 CATEGORY: Country of Origin Mr. M. Jason Cunningham Sonnenberg & Cunningham, PA 780 Fifth Avenue South, Suite 200 Naples, FL 34102 RE: The country of origin of a utility knife. Dear Mr. Cunningham: In your letter dated June 1, 2022, you requested a country of origin ruling on behalf of your client, Great Star Industrial USA, LLC. An image of the subject article was provided in lieu of a sample. We note, per your submission, that the color and similar details may change as production finalizes. The product under consideration is a handheld utility knife intended to be used for general cutting purposes. You indicate it is nearly identical to the utility knife ruled upon in Headquarters ruling letter (HQ) H311480, dated September 29, 2021. It has a retractable steel blade, which is disposable and can be replaced by the ultimate purchaser once it becomes dull. The blade is retractable into the zinc knife handle body using a sliding button. It is shipped with the blade partially extended from the utility knife so that the ultimate purchaser can see that a blade is included and installed. A protective plastic piece covers the extended blade during shipment and sale. Your request states that the razor blade is produced in Vietnam. An unrelated third party makes the steel utility knife blade in Vietnam from raw steel. The Vietnamese process provides a sharp cutting edge to the blade on both sides of the long edge. The short edge is notched so that it can be easily assembled with and replaced into the utility knife handle. The blade is sent to China for assembly with the knife head and with the Chinese origin aluminum handle, screws, spring plate, belt clip, plastic block, and protector. In China, raw blocks of zinc alloy are die-cast to make the left and right sides of the utility knife’s handle body blade holder. The utility knife handle body blade holder components are die-cut, burrs are removed, then they are polished, and finally painted. The subject article’s final assembly with Chinese components occurs in China. It will then be retail packaged and sent to the United States for sale. With regard to the appropriate country of origin marking of these utility knives, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 USC 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. Certain types of articles must be marked in a specified manner as required by 19 CFR 134.43. Knives are specifically identified in this regulatory provision as articles that must be marked legibly and conspicuously by die stamping, cast-in-the-mold lettering, etching, or engraving. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has previously ruled that such articles may be excepted from individual marking if the marking of their containers will reasonably indicate the origin of the articles pursuant to 19 CFR 134.32(d). Pursuant to Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 USC 1304. Section 134.1(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” as: “[t]he 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.” 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. A substantial transformation will not result from a minor manufacturing or combining process that leaves the identity of the article intact. See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 CIT 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993). To determine whether a substantial transformation occurs when components are assembled into completed products, all factors such as the components used to create the product and manufacturing processes that these components undergo are considered in order to determine whether a product with a new name, character, and use has been produced. No one factor is decisive, and assembly/manufacturing operations that are minimal will generally not result in a substantial transformation. As this utility knife is similar, we referred to the above-mentioned HQ H311480 and New York ruling letter N308152, dated December 18, 2019, to include the following analysis: … we must also consider the definition of a knife. As per Merriam-Webster, a knife is defined as “a cutting instrument consisting of a sharp blade fastened to a handle” or “a weapon or tool resembling a knife.” An article without a blade or the ability to cut would not be a knife and in regards to these utility knives, without the utility knife blade, the product would merely be a handle or a part of the finished knife. In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 559782, dated May 24, 1996, CBP considered the origin of a utility knife. All of the knife’s parts were of U.S.-origin, except the two parts that made up the knife body. CBP found that, as a result of having been assembled with the domestic parts, the imported casting parts underwent a change in name to a utility knife. CBP also found that the imported parts underwent a change in character as it was only after the domestic assembly of the imported casting parts with other domestic parts that the essence of a knife was created - meaning the body became an article capable of carrying and retracting the blade to a useable or safe position and housing extra blades. CBP noted that, although the two imported parts were dedicated to become the body of the utility knife, they did not themselves represent the very essence of the finished utility knife. CBP also stated that while the blade was necessary in the operation of the utility knife, for this type of metal utility knife, neither the blade, nor the body alone imparted the very essence of the utility knife. In this scenario, despite the blade being of Vietnamese origin, it is the ultimate assembly of the blade with the Chinese made body/handle occurring in China that makes this article into a completed utility knife, and thus we hold the opinion that the country of origin for this product would be China. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 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 Kristopher Burton at kristopher.burton@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division