The Country of Origin of Chilean Seabass

N347400 April 28, 2025 OT:RR:NC:N5:231 CATEGORY: Origin Mr. Matias Cruz South Pacific Fish SL Avenida Carmen Saez de Tejada SN Mijas Costas, Málaga 29651 Spain RE: The Country of Origin of Chilean Seabass Dear Mr. Cruz: In your letter, dated April 3, 2025, you requested a country of origin determination. You have presented a scenario whereby Chilean Seabass with scientific name Dissostichus eleginoides, also known as Patagonian Toothfish, is harvested from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 87. Initial processing occurs in Chile, where the fish is beheaded, gutted and frozen. The frozen product is then shipped to Spain for further processing. In Spain, the fish is thawed, filleted, and the pin bones are removed. A portion of the fillets is left with the skin on, while another portion is skinned (rendered skinless) and trimmed. Both the skin-on and skinless fillets are individually vacuum packed, refrozen, and packed into export cases for shipment to the United States, where the finished product will be sold to distributors, restaurants, and foodservice companies. You seek a determination as to the country of origin of the above-described two products. 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). 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). In the present instance, the fish is harvested, beheaded, gutted, and frozen in the Chile.? The fish is further processed in Spain (i.e., thawed, filleted, pin-bone removed, skinned in scenario two), refrozen, and exported to the United States. ?This office finds that, based on the information presented, the finished product is substantially transformed due to the processing performed in Spain, and that therefore the country of origin is Spain. 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). Please note that seafood is subject to the Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) requirements administered by the USDA?s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). We advise you to check with that agency for their further guidance on your scenario. Contact information for AMS is as follows: USDA-AMS-LS-SAT Room 2607-S, Stop 0254 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250-0254 Tel. 202.720.4486 Website: www.ams.usda.gov/COOL Email address for inquiries: COOL@usda.gov This merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling the FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html. 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 questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Ekeng Manczuk at ekeng.b.manczuk@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division