The country of origin of Halstead Mosquito Forceps

N346986 April 4, 2025 OT:RR:NC:N3:135 CATEGORY: Origin Stefan Reisinger Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP 799 9th St. N.W. Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20001 RE: The country of origin of Halstead Mosquito Forceps Dear Mr. Reisinger: In your letter dated March 20, 2025, you requested a country of origin ruling on Halstead Mosquito Forceps on behalf of Integra Lifesciences. Additional information was provided by email dated March 24, and March 25, 2025. The Halstead Mosquito Forceps (also called mosquito hemostatic forceps or hemostats) all have long, thin, and straight, curved, or angled jaws that taper to a fine tip and come in a variety of sizes. The jaws are serrated for a firm grasp with minimal tissue trauma. The handles of the forceps have a ratchet lock to secure the grasp once it is engaged. These features make the forceps particularly well suited for brain and other neurological and ENT surgeries given their ability to be manipulated in confined spaces. In Germany, a sheet of rectangular raw steel of German origin will be laser cut to the specific dimensions and shape. The cut pieces are then sent to Pakistan where they are subjected to hot forging, annealing, and drop hammering to remove excess material and to finish the forceps. Once the excess material is cut away, the box, ratchet, and jaw serrations are milled into the forceps and the box lock pins are inserted into the hinge joint of the forceps. Lastly, the forceps are mounted, filed, heat treated, riveted, polished, marked, cleaned and passivated. Upon completion, the forceps are shipped back to Germany where they are subject to quality control inspection and packaging. 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). The cut pieces of raw steel from Germany are in an intermediate form unsuitable for making the forceps in their condition. According to online research, hot forging is “a metal shaping process in which a malleable metal part, known as a billet or work-piece, is worked to a predetermined shape by one or more processes such as hammering, upsetting, pressing and so forth where the work-piece is heated up to about 75% of its melting temperature.? See https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science (last visited 3/27/25). Hot forging enhances strength, improves ductility, and refines the grain structure. ?Annealing is a heat treatment process that changes the physical and sometimes also the chemical properties of a material to increase ductility and reduce the hardness to make it more workable.? See https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/what-is-annealing (last visited 3/27/25). Taken together, hot forging, annealing, and drop hammering in Pakistan changes the character of the cut pieces by significantly altering the mechanical properties of their strength and ductility, and microstructure. These processes render them suitable for making the forceps. Also, the operations give the cut pieces the final shape and size of the Halstead Mosquito Forceps. In our opinion, these multiple manufacturing processes together result in a substantial transformation, as the processes transform the cut pieces into new products with significant changes in character, shape, and use. The remaining operations in Pakistan are finishing operations. Accordingly, the country of origin of the Halstead Mosquito Forceps will be Pakistan. 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 Fei Chen at fei.chen@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division