The country of origin of a lined brake shoe assembly

N335049 September 20, 2023 OT:RR:NC:N:206 CATEGORY: Origin Laura Oliver A N Deringer 173 West Service RoadChamplain, NY 12919 RE:  The country of origin of a lined brake shoe assembly Dear Ms. Oliver: In your letter dated August 28, 2023, you requested a country of origin ruling on behalf of Exxin, Canada. The product under consideration has been identified as a lined brake shoe assembly for heavy duty commercial vehicle brakes. The assembly consists of two brake lining blocks (friction material) from India, two steel brake shoes, brake hardware, and a packaging box from China, and fifty six rivets from the United States. You state that the brake lining blocks are mechanically riveted to the steel brake shoes in China to create a finished lined shoe assembly. The installation brake hardware is included in the lined shoe kit. All four (4) components are then packaged together in China in the box for import to the U.S. Please note that the facts are similar to the lined brake shoe assembly in NY Ruling N334204, dated August 21, 2023, which you also requested on behalf on Exxin, Canada. However, in this scenario, the packaging box and the final finishing operations are done in China. 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). Based on the information provided, none of the components undergo substantial transformation in China. As a result, we need to determine the character of the lined brake shoe assembly. In HQ Ruling 733979, dated June 17, 1991, CBP stated that “The steel core is permanently attached to the friction lining, and is of secondary importance to the lining. The steel core has no independent function, but rather loses its separate identity by incorporation in the brake shoe assembly.” In Ruling N322988, dated December 29, 2021, we decided, “Since we stated in HQ 733979 that the cores are of secondary importance to the lining, the country of origin of the entire brake shoe will be the country of origin of the lining.” Therefore, the subject lined brake shoe assembly is considered a product of India and will not be subject to the additional duties under Section 301, of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by CBP. 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 Liana Alvarez at liana.alvarez@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division