The country of origin of two shea butter products

N362930 July 8, 2026 OT:RR:NC:N5:229 CATEGORY: Origin Qingbin Yuan VitaBio Innovations 737 Olde Trail Road Hummelstown, PA 17036 RE: The country of origin of two shea butter products Dear Mr. Yuan, In your letter dated July 8, 2026, you requested a country of origin ruling on two shea butter products. We previously classified this merchandise in N362222 dated July 7, 2026. A narrative description of the manufacturing process accompanied your letter. You have outlined a scenario in which you plan to import two products, “VitaBio EcoShea™ Partially Refined Shea Butter,” and “VitaBio EcoShea™ Refined Shea Butter.” The products are derived from the kernels of the shea tree (vitellaria paradoxa). Both products are produced beginning with the harvesting of shea fruit which is sourced from various West African countries, specifically, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Benin, and Togo. After the fruit is harvested in the aforementioned West African countries, the fruit pulp is removed, the shea nuts are dried, and the shea kernels are shelled, separated, roasted, and mechanically pressed. The crude shea butter is then produced, packaged, and exported to China. In China, the crude shea butter undergoes separate steps to produce each product. To produce the “VitaBio EcoShea™ Partially Refined Shea Butter,” the crude shea butter is melted, washed with water to remove water soluble impurities, filtered to remove insoluble particles, then packaged. To produce the “VitaBio EcoShea™ Refined Shea Butter,” the crude shea butter is melted, washed with water to remove water soluble impurities, filtered to remove insoluble particles, physically decolorized, physically deodorized, cooled, and packaged. You state the products will be imported as a single ingredient vegetable fat and will not be blended with other oils or ingredients prior to importation. You also state that the harvesting, mechanical extraction, and subsequent processing of the crude shea butter remains the same regardless of the source country. When determining the country of origin for the purposes of applying duty rates, the substantial transformation analysis is applicable. See, e.g., Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) 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). In this case, the manufacturing process performed in China, which consists of melting, washing, filtering, decolorizing, deodorizing, and cooling the shea butter would not effect a substantial transformation. The operations that are performed in China do not create an article with a new name, character, or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. Therefore, we find that the country of origin of the “VitaBio EcoShea™ Partially Refined Shea Butter,” and “VitaBio EcoShea™ Refined Shea Butter” is either Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Benin, or Togo, depending on the source country. 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 merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling the FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 C.F.R. Part 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 Christopher Gangaprashad at christopher.gangaprashad@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, (for) James P. Forkan Director National Commodity Specialist Division