The country of origin of brake pads and brake shoes

N353141 September 30, 2025 OT:RR:NC:N2:206 CATEGORY: Origin William Grosse 1680 Fernstone Dr., NW Acworth, GA 30101 RE: The country of origin of brake pads and brake shoes Dear Mr. Grosse: In your letter dated September 1, 2025, you requested a country of origin ruling on brake pads and brake shoes, which you filed on behalf of Alpha Brake SDN. BHD. The articles under consideration are Brake Pads (KD1739) and Brake Shoes (KD2772), which are used in passenger vehicles. You state that the brake pads and brake shoes will be sold directly to resellers in the automotive aftermarket in the United States. According to the bill of materials (BOM) supplied with your request, the friction mix and the backing plates for the brake pads and brake shoes are sourced from Malaysia. The friction mix is then made into a friction material in Malaysia and assembled into the backing plates with Indonesian shims and Thai stainless steel clips to create complete brake pads and brake shoes. The brake pads and brake shoes are then packaged into separate boxes with a repair kit in each, containing brackets of stamped tin alloy of Chinese origin. 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. A substantial transformation occurs when, as a result of manufacturing process, a new and different article emerges, having a distinct name, character or use, which is different from that originally possessed by the article or material before being subjected to the manufacturing process. See United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940). In this instance, the main components of the brake pads and brake shoes, such as the friction material and backing plates are produced in Malaysia. We previously ruled that it is the friction material that imparts the character of the entire brake pad (see HQ 733979, dated June 17, 1991, NY J84298, dated May 22, 2003, N322988, dated December 29, 2021, N334204, and dated August 21, 2023.) The rest of the components thus lose their individual identities and become parts of the brake pads and brake shoes. As a result, the country of origin of the Brake Pads (KD1739) and Brake Shoes (KD2772) will be Malaysia for marking purposes. However, the “repair kits” are not altered in any way and are separate components in the package. Thus, they retain their country of origin as China. Therefore, the country of origin of each box containing the brake pads or brake shoes and “repair kits” will be Malaysia and China, respectively. 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 Liana Alvarez at liana.alvarez@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, (for) Denise Faingar Designated Official Performing the Duties of the Division Director National Commodity Specialist Division