The country of origin and marking of Body Spray Mists

N342740 October 10, 2024 OT:RR:NC:N3:140 CATEGORY: Origin, Marking David Murphy GDLSK 599 Lexington Avenue, 36th floorNew York, NY 10022 RE:  The country of origin and marking of Body Spray Mists Dear Mr. Murphy: In your letter dated September 20, 2024, you requested a ruling on the country of origin and marking requirements for two body spray mists on behalf of your client, Frog Prince (Fujian) Baby & Child Care Products Co., Ltd. Representative samples were submitted with your letter and will be retained by this office. You provided a sample of the Cherry Blossom and the Whipped Vanilla fragrance sprays. Both items are described as fragrance mists and are packaged in 8 fluid ounce spray bottles. Both products will consist of a single fragrance base supplied from Indonesia, Singapore or Thailand. The perfume base will be shipped to China where it will be blended with alcohol, water and propylene glycol. The blending process alters the viscosity of the fragrances enabling them to be applied via a spray mechanism. You indicate that no chemical reaction occurs during this process. In some instances, the solution may be left standing for a certain amount of time. In other instances, it may be cooled to a prescribed temperature and filtered before packaging. The blend will be packaged into pump spray bottles. The packaging materials will all be of Chinese origin. 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). While the finished fragrances are made suitable for spraying by diluting the fragrance bases, they retain the same chemical identity and character as the precursor bases. In this case, the changes in concentration and viscosity which occur in China, do not result in a substantial transformation for origin purposes. It is our opinion that the country of origin of the body spray mists will be Indonesia, Singapore or Thailand. 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. To meet the marking requirements, the body spray mists must be conspicuously, legibly and permanently marked with the country of origin in satisfaction of the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134. Since the body spray mists are incapable of being marked, they are excepted (19 CFR Section 134.32(a)). Accordingly marking the outer most container in which the body spray mists are imported and sold to the ultimate purchaser is an acceptable country of origin marking. We find that the proposed marking of the body spray mists as, “Product of Indonesia,” "Product of Singapore," or "Product of Thailand" if printed legibly, clearly, and in a conspicuous place would be considered an acceptable method of marking and would meet the country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134. You also asked whether the body sprays mists would be subject to the additional duties imposed upon Chinese goods under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Currently, the Section 301 duties only apply to articles that are products of the People’s Republic of China. Therefore, based on the processing described during the manufacturing of the subject merchandise, the body spray mists will not be subject to those additional duties upon importation into the United States. For background information regarding the trade remedy initiated pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, you may refer to the relevant parts of the USTR available at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/tariff-actions. This merchandise may be subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and/or The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which are administered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as well as The Bioterrorism Act, can be obtained by calling the FDA at 1-888-463-6332, or by visiting their website at www.fda.gov. 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 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, please contact National Import Specialist Merari Ortiz at merari.ortiz@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division