The country of origin of an encapsulated and packaged LED die

N343880 December 5, 2024 OT:RR:NC:N2:209 CATEGORY: Origin George Tuttle, III Tuttle Law Offices 3950 Civic Center Drive, Suite 310San Rafael, CA 94903 RE:  The country of origin of an encapsulated and packaged LED die Dear Mr. Tuttle, III: In your letter dated November 6, 2024, you requested a country of origin ruling for encapsulated and packaged LED die on behalf of your client, Elemental LED, Inc. The item concerned is an encapsulated LED package. It consists of an LED chip (or die) encapsulated within silicone resin that incorporates phosphor powder. The LED die is made from semiconductor material that allows protons and electrons to flow freely. When electrical current passes through the LED die it emits blue light. Phosphor powder in the silicone resin that encapsulates the LED die converts the emitted blue light into visible wavelengths in the red and green spectrum. The combination of blue, red and green wavelengths from the encapsulated LED die and phosphors produces a white light. The fabrication of an LED package involves two main processes: (1) the fabrication of the LED die, followed by (2) the assembly of the individual LED package. The LED die manufacturing process that occurs in Taiwan incudes the following: Single Crystal Growth (boule) Slicing the Boule into Wafers Grinding and Polishing of the Wafer Double-Sided Grinding Double-Sided Polishing Chemical-Mechanical Polishing (CMP) Epigrowth - HTCVD2 Photolithography Photoresist, Exposure, Developing Etching and Ion Implantation Chip Probing Wafer Mounting, Sawing and Plasma Cleaning At this point, each LED die is complete and has a predetermined end use. The Taiwanese LED die will then be shipped to China for LED package assembly. Within China, the LED die is mounted inside a small white plastic mold, commonly referred to as the frame. Then silicone is used to adhere the copper soldering pads to the LED die and frame. Next gold wires are soldered to the LED and the copper pads, creating the anodic and cathodic electrical leads. Then the assembly is encapsulated within a Silicone and Phosphor mixture. Finally, the LEDs packages are fed into a spectroradiometer, which measures the color and groups similar LEDs in bins. At this point, the LED package assembly is complete. When determining the country of origin for purposes of applying current trade remedies under Section 301, the substantial transformation analysis is applicable. See, e.g., Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) H301619, dated November 6, 2018. 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, 681 F.2d 778 (C.C.P.A. 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). Additionally, Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the United States 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 United States, the English name of the country of origin of the article. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will.” See United States v. Friedlander & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940). Part 134 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Regulations (19 CFR 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.1(b), CBP Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” 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 the marking laws and regulations. Based upon the facts presented, it is the opinion of this office that the processing that takes place within Taiwan is both meaningful and complex, resulting in the creation of the LED die. All non-originating materials/elements used in the manufacture of the LED die are substantially transformed as a result of the Taiwanese manufacturing process. The character of the finished encapsulated LED package is imparted by the LED die which would be considered the dominant component of each assembly. The LED dies do not undergo a substantial transformation as a result of the processing that takes place within China. The LED die retain their identity and predetermined end use. Therefore, since a substantial transformation does not occur as a result of the processing that takes place within China, the country of origin of the finished encapsulated LED package will be Taiwan for marking purposes at time of importation into the United States. Regarding the country of origin as it pertains to the applicability of trade remedies under Section 301, the country of origin would be Taiwan and as such the encapsulated LED packages would not be subject to the Section 301 trade remedies. 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 Steven Pollichino at steven.pollichino@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division