The country of origin of  PV 23 Pigment Powder

N332620 May 23, 2023 OT:RR:NC:N3:136 CATEGORY: Origin Bernd Strobel Heubach Colorants Germany Brueningstr. 50Frankfurt 65929Germany RE: The country of origin of  PV 23 Pigment Powder Dear Mr. Strobel: In your letter dated May 2, 2023, you requested a country of origin ruling on PV 23 Pigment Powder. In your submission, you state that finished Pigment Violet 23 powder (PV 23) will be produced in Germany, using PV 23 Crude (green powder) from Germany, India, or China; isobutanol from Germany, and additives/synergists from Germany. You state that PV 23 Crude powder is converted into finished PV 23 pigment powder by special technology in Frankfurt, Germany. Finished PV 23 pigment powder is produced mainly via a 5-step synthesis process that includes chemical reactions with added substances. The Crude source can be from Germany, China, or India; therefore, finished PV 023 pigment powder can be fully or partially based on German, Chinese, or Indian Crude.   You describe that the production process includes various types of vibro milling (vibro, excenter, pearl milling, etc.), swelling and finishing steps (solvent/water), adding isobutanol and other special additives, distillation, special drying, milling mixing, and packaging. The finished product will be used in various end applications such as plastics, coatings, and printing. 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). With respect to the subject product, we have determined that the production process in Germany using raw materials from Germany, India, and China, results in a substantial transformation of the raw materials of German, Indian or Chinese origin. Therefore, in our opinion, the country of origin for the subject product is Germany. This merchandise may be subject to the requirements of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which are administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Information on the TSCA can be obtained by contacting the EPA at Document Control Office (7407M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20460, by calling the Toxic Substances Control Act Hotline at (202) 554-1404, by e-mailing to tsca-hotline@epa.gov, or by visiting their website at www.epa.gov. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border Protection 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, please contact National Import Specialist Nuccio Fera at nuccio.fera@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division