The country of origin of a ground fault interrupter (GFCI) receptacle

N348392 May 30, 2025 OT:RR:NC:N2:220 CATEGORY: Origin Adam Srebnik Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. 5835 Waterford District Drive, Suite 200 Miami, FL 33178 RE: The country of origin of a ground fault interrupter (GFCI) receptacle Dear Mr. Srebnik: In your letter dated April 10, 2025, you requested a country of origin ruling for the purposes of Section 301 measures on GFCI receptacles on behalf of your client, Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. The merchandise under consideration is identified as the GFCI receptacle, which is described as a plastic housing containing a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), electrical contacts, terminals, and various subassemblies for protecting electrical circuits and sensing overload conditions. The receptacle has a test button, a reset button, and two grounded electrical sockets on the front face. In use, the receptacle provides electrically protected power in commercial and residential applications. In your submission, you provide three production scenarios describing the receptacle’s manufacturing process. In the first scenario, the PCBA is produced in Vietnam by soldering numerous electronic components, such as resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes, integrated circuits, a voltage suppressor, etc. onto a bare printed circuit board through a surface mount (SMT) process. The PCBA that is produced in Vietnam is said to be an incomplete, semi-finished PCBA that is then shipped to Mexico where numerous components of Chinese origin, such as contacts, the latching mechanism, the surge protector, the power sensing coil, the solenoid trigger assembly, and various terminals, are soldered onto the PCBA by a through hole insertion process. Also in Mexico, the PCBA is programmed, tested, and inserted into the plastic housing along with the internal components, which are identified as Chinese origin terminals, the test/reset components, the front/middle/back plastic housings, and the Mexican origin test/reset components, and the trip slider subassembly. Once the GFCI receptacle is assembled and tested, it is packaged for export to the United States. In the second scenario, the PCBA is produced in China by soldering numerous electronic components, such as resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes, integrated circuits, a voltage suppressor, etc. onto a bare printed circuit board through a SMT process. The PCBA that is produced in China is said to be an incomplete, semi-finished PCBA that is then shipped to Mexico where numerous components of Chinese origin, such as contacts, the latching mechanism, the surge protector, the power sensing coil, the solenoid trigger assembly, and various terminals, are soldered onto the PCBA by a through hole insertion process. Also in Mexico, the PCBA is programmed, tested, and inserted into the plastic housing along with the internal components, which are identified as Chinese origin terminals, the test/reset components, the front/middle/back plastic housings, and the Mexican origin test/reset components, and the trip slider subassembly. Once the GFCI receptacle is assembled and tested, it is packaged for export to the United States. In the third scenario, the PCBA is produced in China by soldering numerous electronic components, such as resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes, integrated circuits, a voltage suppressor, etc. onto a bare printed circuit board through a SMT process. The PCBA that is produced in China is said to be an incomplete, semi-finished PCBA that is then shipped to Mexico where numerous components of Chinese origin, such as contacts, the latching mechanism, the surge protector, the power sensing coil, the solenoid trigger assembly, and various terminals, are soldered onto the PCBA by a through hole insertion process. Also in Mexico, the PCBA is programmed, tested, and inserted into the plastic housing along with the internal components, which are identified terminals, the test/reset components, the front/middle/back plastic housings, and the trip slider subassembly, which are all Chinese origin. Once the GFCI receptacle is assembled and tested, it is packaged for export to the United States. When determining the country of origin for purposes of applying current trade remedies under Section 301 and additional duties, the substantial transformation analysis is applicable. See, e.g., Headquarters Ruling Letter 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). While the semi-finished PCBA in scenario one, occurring in Vietnam, produces a PCBA of Vietnamese origin, and the semi-finished PCBAs in scenario two and three, occurring in China, produces PCBAs of Chinese origin, the additional assembly work performed in Mexico is complex and meaningful and produces a new product in name, character, and use. As a result, the individual components that are assembled in Mexico into a functional electrical protection device are substantially transformed as a result of the production process and the subject GFCI receptacles are considered a product of Mexico that are not subject to Section 301 remedies at the time of importation into the United States. 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 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 Karl Moosbrugger at karl.moosbrugger@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, (for) Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division