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NY 896220




April 28, 1994

CLA-2-90:S:N:N3:119 896220

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION MARKING

TARIFF NO.: 9018.90.7560

Mr. Craig Townsend
Sechrist Industries, Inc.
4225 E. La Palma Avenue
Anaheim, CA 92807

RE: The tariff classification of an incubator from Argentina

Dear Mr. Townsend:

In your letter dated March 21, 1994, you requested a tariff classification and country of origin marking ruling for an incubator for newborn infants.

The incubator is to be partly manufactured in Argentina and finished in the United States. In its imported condition, the incubator will consist of a sheet metal cabinet and base, an acrylic hood assembly and an electronic control unit "partially assembled" in Argentina from the following U.S. made components: motor, transformer, wires, air flow sensor, connectors, sockets/switches and air temperature sensor.

The work performed in the United States is described in your letter as follows:

Complete the assembly of the electronic control unit. Install U.S. made microprocessor (Motorola) which has been programmed with current revision software and membrane switch control panel assembly.

Other U.S. components which we add to complete the assembly of the cabinet and hood are: casters, skin temperature sensors, mattress, plastic sleeves, all labels, power cord, and operating manual.

After [above items] are completed, we perform the calibration procedures and final testing along with the quality assurance testing procedures.

You estimate that U.S. labor and material amount to approximately 50 percent of the finished product.

Paragraph 2(a) of the General Rules of Interpretation, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States reads in part: "Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article". In its imported condition , the unfinished incubator does have the essential character of the finished product and will therefore be classified accordingly.

The applicable subheading for the incubator will be 9018.90.7560, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for electro-medical instruments and appliances and parts and accessories thereof... other. The rate of duty will be 4.2 percent.

Articles classifiable under subheading 9018.90.7560, HTS, which are products of Argentina are entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations.

Regarding the country of origin marking, you inquired as to whether the finished incubator can be marked "Made in the U.S.A.". Even if for Customs purposes we were to consider the incubator a product of the U.S. it would have been against the Federal Trade Commission's regulations to mark it "Made in the U.S.A." because the finished incubator would not have been manufactured entirely in the United States.

Although further processed after importation, the incubator is not substantially transformed in the U.S. into a new article having a new name, character or use. It is therefore considered to be a product of Argentina and should be marked accordingly.

Since the incubator is to be finished and repacked in the U.S., you may wish to mark it after importation in which case the certification procedures of paragraph 134.26 of the Customs Regulations will have to be followed. The Import Specialist at the port through which you plan to import the merchandise should be consulted on the type of marking you intend to use for the finished product.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director

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