The country of origin of boiler wall panels

N351184 July 22, 2025 OT:RR:NC:N1:103 CATEGORY: Origin Paul Fudacz Braumiller Law Group, PLLC 5220 Spring Valley Road, Suite 200 Dallas, TX 75254 RE: The country of origin of boiler wall panels Dear Mr. Fudacz: In your letter dated July 10, 2025, you requested a country of origin ruling on behalf of your client, Babcock Power Services Inc. The merchandise under consideration is referred to as a boiler wall panel for a power generating boiler used in a fossil fuel utility. The panels are composed of carbon or alloy steel tubes and are used as replacement or repair components for existing boiler walls. The boiler wall panel is assembled using sub panel assemblies manufactured in China, where ten carbon or alloy steel tubes (manufactured to ASTM A210 specification) are joined with membrane bars. An automated panel welding machine that uses either a metal inert gas welding process or a submerged arc welding process welds the membrane bars and tubes to form a single uniform wall panel. The ten-tube sub panel assemblies are sent to Vietnam where two panels are welded together to create a twenty-tube assembly. Next, an overlay is applied to one face of the panel. If required, some panels are bent at one or more places to match the design of the boiler wall. Lastly, the panels are tested and inspected through both visual inspections and verifying the accuracy of the final dimensions. 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). CBP has held that whether a manufacturing process is sufficiently complex to rise to the level of a substantial transformation is determined upon consideration of all the operations that occur within that country. In viewing the information provided with your submission, the sub panel assemblies are manufactured in China and arrive in Vietnam with a pre-determined end use as parts of a boiler wall panel. In our view, the Chinese sub panel assembly is not substantially changed by the process of welding two panels together, the addition of an overlay layer, or by bending the panels. The operational steps are not complex enough to transform the components into a new and different product. Therefore, the country of origin of the boiler wall panel is China. 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 Paul Huang at paul.huang@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, (for) James Forkan Acting Director National Commodity Specialist Division