The country of origin of slip joint pliers

N332748 May 18, 2023 OT:RR:NC:N1: 118 CATEGORY: Origin Eric Lee Zhangjiagang Tianhua Hardware Co., Ltd. XinLe Rd., DaXin Town, Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu ProvinceZhangjiagang 215636China RE: The country of origin of slip joint pliers Dear Mr. Lee: In your letter dated May 5, 2023, you requested a country of origin ruling for slip joint pliers.  Pictures and descriptions of the manufacturing processes were provided with your submission.  The pliers are designed with a slip joint, which allows the user to move the handles apart to increase the jaw size and enlarge grip capacity.  You have stated that the pliers will be imported in 6”, 8”, and 10” sizes, however the manufacturing process is the same for each size. The slip joint pliers’ handles and jaws are drop-forged from raw steel rods in Vietnam, forming the rough shape of each handle and jaw.  Further in Vietnam, each handle is die-cut, and burs are removed.  The two halves of the pliers (i.e., the pieces incorporating the handles and jaws) are then sent to China, where two holes are drilled into each piece so that they can be joined together.  Teeth are then cut into the jaws and the pieces undergo heat-treatment and polishing.  Finally, the two halves are assembled with a rivet, soft grips are slipped over the handles, and the finished pliers are packaged for retail sale. Regarding your request for the appropriate country of origin of the slip joint pliers, 19 C.F.R. § 134.1(b) provides in pertinent part as follows: Country of origin means 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).  In order to determine whether a substantial transformation occurs when components of various origins 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 minimal assembly operations will generally not result in a substantial transformation. In our view, the pliers’ handles and jaws constitute the essential characteristics of the finished pliers.  In the proposed manufacturing scenario, raw steel is drop forged in Vietnam into the pliers handles and jaws that have the shape and form of the final product.  The handles and jaws are also die cut and deburred in Vietnam.  As a result of these operations, the handles and jaws are dedicated for use as pliers upon export from Vietnam.  The Chinese processing consists of heat treating, drilling the fulcrum holes, polishing, and simple assembly with a rivet, and handle grips.  Based on the provided description of the assembly and processing operations performed in China, the handles and jaws are not substantially changed by the addition of the remaining components nor are the assembly operations complex enough so as to transform the handles and jaws into a new article.  Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the country of origin of the slip joint pliers is Vietnam. Please note that 19 C.F.R. § 177.9(b)(1) provides that “[e]ach ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all the information furnished in connection with the ruling request and incorporated in the ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect.  The application of a ruling letter by a CBP field office to the transaction to which it is purported to relate is subject to the verification of the facts incorporated in the ruling letter, a comparison of the transaction described therein to the actual transaction, and the satisfaction of any conditions on which the ruling was based.” 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 Anthony Grossi at anthony.e.grossi@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division