The country of origin of integrated circuits

N354283 October 20, 2025 OT:RR:NC:N2:209 CATEGORY: Origin Boke Yan Superacme Inc. 152 W 57th St. FL 28 New York, NY 10019 RE: The country of origin of integrated circuits Dear Mr. Yan: In your letter dated September 27, 2025, you requested a country of origin ruling on integrated circuits. The merchandise under consideration is described as integrated circuits (ICs), which are identified by product numbers KF1960, KF1968, and KF1973. The subject ICs are designed for use with data processing in computers and they contain various active and passive components such as resistors, diodes, transistors, and external connections fabricated on a small piece of silicon. The ICs undergo a Front-End and Back-End manufacturing process. The Front-End manufacturing process takes place in South Korea and the Back-End manufacturing process occurs in either China or Taiwan. The Front-End manufacturing process includes the following: 1. Blank wafer production 2. Oxidation 3. Masking 4. Lithography 5. Etching 6. Ion Implantation 7. Thin Film Deposition 8. Repeat Steps 4 through 7 to form semiconductive circuits on the wafer. 9. Metal Wiring Process 10. Wafer Testing The Front-End manufacturing process will yield 12-inch wafers containing 4,872 bare chips. Each chip has functional integrated circuits and meets the technical parameters for its customer-specific design. The Back-End manufacturing process includes: 1. Bumping 2. 2. Grinding 3. Cutting 4. Encapsulation 5. Connection Point Testing Once the above manufacturing processes are complete, the integrated circuits will be shipped to a separate testing facility in China for final testing. The testing includes analyzing electrical characteristics, functional characteristics, and operating speed under different electrical signals, volt, and moisture to ensure integrated circuits are fully functional and meet customer application requirements. 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 upon the facts presented, it is the opinion of this office that the Front-End manufacturing process taking place in South Korea is both meaningful and complex, resulting in the creation of functional integrated circuits. The integrated circuits do not undergo a substantial transformation as a result of the Back-End manufacturing process that takes place in either China or Taiwan. They retain their identity as integrated circuits with a predetermined end use. Therefore, the country of origin of the finished integrated circuits, product numbers KF1960, KF1968, and KF1973, will be South Korea for marking purposes and for the purposes of applying current trade remedies and additional duties. 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 Steven Pollichino at steven.pollichino@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, (for) Evan Conceicao Designated Official Performing the Duties of the Division Director National Commodity Specialist Division