The country of origin of a monitor

N349107 June 11, 2025 OT:RR:NC:N2:208 CATEGORY: Origin John McKenzie Baker & McKenzie LLP 101 California Street, Suite 4100 San Francisco, CA 94111 RE: The country of origin of a monitor Dear Mr. McKenzie: In your letter dated May 16, 2025, you requested a country of origin ruling of a monitor, on behalf of your client, Acer, Inc. The merchandise under consideration is the Acer In-Plane Switching (IPS) monitor, Vero B7 series - B 277- G. These monitors receive data from an external source, then process and convert that data into physical output commands to display an image. Based on the information provided, these monitors are manufactured and assembled in Vietnam or Thailand. The main printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), which receives, decodes, and processes external video and audio, is manufactured by means of surface mount technology (SMT), which involves affixing electronic components to a bare printed circuit board (PCB) in Vietnam or Thailand. This SMT process involves affixing 16 active electronic components and 269 passive components to the main PCBA. After the completion of the SMT process, additional components, such as VGA/HDMI and Display Port (DP), are manually added to the PCBA in Vietnam or Thailand. Two additional printed circuit board assemblies for the computer monitor, the power supply PCBA and the keyboard PCBA are also manufactured in Vietnam or Thailand by means of the SMT process. The open cell assembly, which is composed of liquid crystal display (LCD), is performed in China. For the monitors manufactured and assembled in Vietnam, the open cell assembly and the backlight unit are assembled together to make a complete liquid crystal display module (LCM) in Vietnam. However, for the monitors manufactured and assembled in Thailand, the open cell assembly and the backlight unit are assembled together in China to make a complete LCM. The final element of the assembly process consists of the fastening of the main PCBA, the ancillary PCBAs, and the LCM module into the monitor’s chassis (cabinet), which is performed in Vietnam or Thailand. 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). Additionally, Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the United States, the English name of the country of origin of the article. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304 was “that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will.” See United States v. Friedlander & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940). Part 134 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Regulations (19 CFR 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.1(b), CBP Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” 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 the marking laws and regulations. Based on the facts presented, it is the opinion of this office that the origin of the monitor is the country in which the underlying main PCBA (main board) is produced. Accordingly, the Vietnam or Thailand main board imparts the prominent character of the device, since it performs the primary and vital functions of the monitor. As a result, we find that the country of origin of the subject monitor is the country where the main PCBA is manufactured, in this case either Vietnam or Thailand, and that the finished monitor should be marked accordingly as "Product of Vietnam" or "Product of Thailand." 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 Lisa Cariello at lisa.a.cariello@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, (for) Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division