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HQ 561572




February 29, 2000

MAR 2-05 RR:CR:SM 561572 RSD

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Bill Bettridge
Operations Manager
Shields Rubber Company
1217 67th Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21237

RE: Country of origin marking requirements for imported molded rubber hoses and seals used in the manufacture of trucks, substantial transformation, 19 CFR 134.35(a)

Dear Mr. Bettridge:

This is in response to your letter dated November 3, 1999, requesting a ruling regarding the country of origin marking requirements for molded rubber products imported from Indonesia. You did not submit samples or illustrations of the imported merchandise.

FACTS:

Shields Rubber Company (Shields) will be importing molded rubber products made in Indonesia. You describe the merchandise as molded unreinforced rubber tubes and molded unreinforced seals. Shields will sell the imported rubber parts to Mac Truck, who will use them as air intake hoses and shifter seals for the production of class eight motor vehicles. You state that the unreinforced rubber tubes are classified under subheading 4009.10.00, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule United States (HTSUS), while the unreinforced seals are classified under subheading 4016.93.1090, HTSUS. The merchandise will be entered through the port of Baltimore. The containers in which the rubber tubes and seals will be imported into the U.S. are marked with the country of origin of these parts. In addition, the containers in which Shields ships the rubber parts to Mac Truck will also be marked to indicate the country of origin of the rubber articles.

ISSUE:

What are the country of origin marking requirements for the imported rubber tubes and seals that will be used in the manufacture of trucks?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

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 U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. 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." United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302 (1940).

Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.1(b), Customs 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 U.S. 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. An article used in manufacture which results in an article having a name, character, or use differing from that of the constituent article will be considered substantially transformed. U.S. v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940).

The standard for determining the ultimate purchaser of an imported article used in manufacture is set forth in section 134.35(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.35(a)), which provides that the manufacturer or processor who converts or combines the imported article into an article having a name, character or use differing from that of the imported article is considered the ultimate purchaser. Under such circumstances, the imported article is substantially transformed and the article itself need not be individually marked. Only the outermost container in which the article is imported must be marked.

In HQ 731076 dated November 1, 1988, Customs ruled that automobile components from Japan, Taiwan and the U.S. lost their separate identities when they were incorporated into cars in a manufacturing process and were therefore substantially transformed. We stated that the manufacture of an automobile was more than a simple assembly operation. In HRL 733941 dated March 1, 1991, automotive wire harnesses were assembled in Mexico and sold to Ford Motor Company to be used as a part of the electrical system for motor vehicles produced in the U.S. There was a statement from Ford Motor Company that the wire harnesses would be used only as original equipment in the manufacture of motor vehicles. Accordingly, we ruled that when the imported wire harnesses were incorporated into a new motor vehicle as part of the manufacturing process, they lost their separate identity and became a part of a new article of commerce; namely, a motor vehicle. Thus we held that the wire harnesses were substantial transformed and excepted from the individual country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C 1304.

Consistent with HRL 731076 and HRL 733941, we find the rubber tubes and rubber seals will be substantially transformed when Mac Trucks uses these parts in the production of new trucks. We assume for purposes of this ruling that the rubber tubes and rubber seals will be used only as original equipment parts in the manufacture of new trucks. Accordingly, we find that the rubber tubes and seals will be excepted from the individual marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, provided that the containers in which the rubber parts reach the ultimate purchaser, Mac Truck, are properly marked to indicate their country of origin.

You should be advised that if the imported rubber parts will be repacked into new containers after importation and before they reach the ultimate purchasers, the repackaging certification procedures outlined in 19 CFR 134.26 must be followed.

HOLDING:

The imported rubber parts, which Mac Trucks will use in the manufacture of new trucks, are substantially transformed. In accordance 19 CFR 134.35(a), Mac Truck is the ultimate purchaser of the imported rubber parts. The imported rubber parts are excepted from being individually marked with the their country of origin, provided that they are imported in a properly marked container with their country of origin and the port director at the port of entry is satisfied that they will be used only in the manner set forth above and Mac Truck will receive them in the marked packages.

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods are entered. 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,


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