The country of origin of an LED emergency light

N344188 December 9, 2024 OT:RR:NC:N4:410 CATEGORY: Country of Origin Richard Tokatlian ABB Electrification Canada Inc. 800 Hymus BoulevardSaint-Laurent H4S 0B5Canada RE:  The country of origin of an LED emergency light Dear Mr. Tokatlian: In your letter dated November 21, 2024, you requested a country of origin ruling on an LED emergency light with two lamps for purposes of applying current trade remedies under Section 301. The LED emergency light consists of a plastic back plate, batteries, a main printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), a plastic housing (to which two LED lamps or light heads are attached), two plastic lamp housings, two LED PBCAs (one for each lamp), a reflector and two lenses. The LED PBCAs are populated with LEDs forming the LED light boards (light source). All of the components and materials are from China except that the main PCBA, two LED PBCAs, user instructions, labels and packaging materials are made in Vietnam. The main PCBA and PCB light boards are manufactured in Vietnam, which start with the production of the PCBs with the Chinese origin electronic components via the SMT (surface mount technology) process. The SMT process involves mounting the main integrated circuit, as well as various capacitors, varistors, fuse and diodes, etc., which goes through the steps of inkjet printing, SPI (solder paste inspection), chip mounting, reflow soldering, high-low current test, parallel transplanting, cooling, gluing, AOI (automated optical inspection), lens chip mounting, electrical testing, darkroom testing, visual inspection, loading, etc. in particular, the PCBAs (for the light heads) are further populated with the LEDs to make the PBC light boards (light source) in Vietnam during the process. The back plate, housings, reflectors, lenses, etc., are assembled with the PCBAs to make the finished LED emergency light. A series of inspection and testing are performed during and after the final assembly. When determining the country of origin, 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). We find that, although a significant number of the parts or components are made in China, the main PBCA and PBC light boards are the most important and critical components in the subject LED emergency light. The assembly operations (including the SMT process) performed in Vietnam substantially transform the Chinese origin components into Vietnam products. The manufacturing process in Vietnam does create a new and different article of commerce with a distinct character and use that is not inherent in the components imported into China. Therefore, the country of origin of the LED emergency light is Vietnam for the purposes of China Section 301 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 Michael Chen at michael.w.chen@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division