The country of origin of griddles

N344477 January 2, 2025 OT:RR:NC:N4:410 CATEGORY: Origin Eunkyung Shin Baker McKenzie LLC 300 East Randolph Street, Suite 5000Chicago, IL 60601 RE:  The country of origin of griddles Dear Ms. Shin: This is in response to your letter dated December 6, 2024, on behalf of your client, Weber-Stephen Products LLC, requesting a country of origin determination of gas griddles for purposes of Section 301 duties. The merchandise at issue is two griddles, identified as the Weber 28" flat top griddle (“Weber 28”) and the Weber 36" flat top griddle (“Weber 36”), to be used for cooking food. The griddles each consist of a lid assembly, gas train assembly, grease tray, control panel, cart with side panels, side tables, and burners. You present a manufacturing process scenario, in which the factory in Thailand assembles the components of both Chinese-origin and Thai-origin to manufacture the gas griddles, including the production of certain components and sub-assemblies, and the final assembly process occurs in Thailand. The production steps by the Thai factory for the WEBER 36” are largely the same as those for the WEBER 28” griddles. The primary difference is that the WEBER 36” is 8" wider than the Weber 28" griddle, leading to the addition of a fourth burner, a reinforced lid, an expanded cook box, and a four-wheel base as opposed to two wheels. The Weber 36" lid contains additional brackets, stamped in Thailand from Chinese-origin cold rolled steel sheet and modified hinges stamped and welded in Thailand with brackets welded onto the lid. The cart legs, cartwheels, knobs, gas trains and the steel burner tubes are from China. The submitted documents (Bill of Materials, Standard Operation Procedures, etc.) indicate that the components and sub-assemblies are made in China and imported into Thailand for final assembly, testing, and packing in Thailand. The processes performed in China for such Chinese-origin components and sub-assemblies include laser cutting and stamping of legs and stamping of the tank holder and gas train fixed bracket. The cook box, grease tray, cart side panels, side tables, control panels, and lids are made in Thailand from the Chinese-origin materials, such as metal sheets (for the making of grease tray, cook box and side tables) and steel tubes (for the making of cart legs). The process involves the operations of deep drawing, stamping, punching, blanking, piercing, deburring, bending, welding, shearing, laser cutting, etc. You emphasize that certain Thai-made sub-assemblies including the cook box, lid, cart, and side table components are key sub-assemblies of the griddles. The operations performed at the Thai factory on the griddles are extensive, requiring skilled labor, specialized industrial equipment, and multiple rounds of quality control and inspection. You note that the complex skills are required for the labor force include stamping (by operating punching, pressing, and stamping equipment capable of 50–275 tons of force) and welding (by using CO2 arc, resistance, percussion, argon arc, and laser auto welding equipment). The Thai Factory also requires at least 17 types of specialized industrial equipment to produce the griddles. In addition, the production of the griddles is subject to multiple rounds of quality control, testing, and inspection at the Thai factory, especially given that the griddles are designed to hold an approximately 20-pound liquid propane tank, control the emission of the propane to burners, and allow users to cook over an open flame. 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). Based on the information presented in the manufacturing scenario, this office is of the view that a significant number of components, including certain key components and subassemblies, are made in Thailand from the materials, e.g., the sheet steel and steel tubes from China. The production of these components and subassemblies from the Chinese-origin sheet steel and steel tubes, along with the processing activities, would constitute a substantial transformation in Thailand when they are manufactured into subassemblies, which are ultimately assembled into the subject griddles. The manufacturing process performed in Thailand does constitute a substantial transformation of the Chinese materials. The manufacturing process in Thailand involves complex operations, which is more than a simple assembly. It creates a new and different article of commerce with a distinct character and use that is not inherent in the components imported into Thailand. Thus, we find that the country of origin for the griddles will be Thailand, and the China Section 301 remedies do not apply. 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