The country of origin of slip joint pliers

N333506 June 16, 2023 OT:RR:NC:N1:118 CATEGORY: Origin Yan Chen Weihai Maxpower Advanced Tool Co., Ltd. No.8-9, 8-22 Huizhou Road, WendengWeihai 264400China RE:  The country of origin of slip joint pliers Dear Mr. Chen: In your letter dated June 13, 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.  The slip joint pliers’ handles and jaws are drop-forged from raw steel bars in South Korea, forming the approximate size and shape of each handle and jaw.  The two halves of the pliers (i.e., the pieces incorporating the handles and jaws) are then shipped to China where each is machined, heat-treated, and plated.  This includes milling slip holes into the handles, punching holes into the handles and milling jaw teeth.  Next, the two components are assembled with a Chinese-origin pin.  Finally, the finished pliers are packaged and shipped to the United States. 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 bar is forged in South Korea into the pliers’ handles and jaws that have the shape and form of the final product.  As a result of this operation, the handles and jaws are dedicated for use as pliers upon export from South Korea.  The Chinese processing consists of heat treating, milling, and assembly with a pin 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 South Korea. 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