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NY R04297





July 26, 2006

MAR-2 RR:NC:N1:106 R04297

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Vincent Enea
Texas Aero Engine Services Ltd.
2180 Eagle Parkway
Fort Worth, TX 76177

RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF AIRCRAFT ENGINE PARTS RETURNED AFTER REPAIR

Dear Mr. Enea:

This is in response to your letter dated June 27, 2006 requesting a ruling on the acceptable country of origin marking for imported aircraft engine parts

You state in your letter that jet engines are sent to you for overhauling and that your firm knocks these engines down, exports the parts for repair and refurbishment and reassembles them after re-importation. The engines in question were originally manufactured by Rolls Royce in England and the country of origin of these engines when originally imported into the United States was England. You wish to know what the country of origin will be for the parts of these engines after being returned from abroad following repair operations.

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. The purpose of the marking statute is outlined in United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 CCPA 297 at 302 C.A.D. 104 (1940), where the court stated that: "Congress intended 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."

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 the country of origin of an article 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 for country of origin marking purposes. A substantial transformation occurs when articles lose their identity and become new articles having a new name, character or use. United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 at 270 (1940).

In this case, the parts of the engine which are disassembled and exported by you for repair (or replacement) do not undergo a change in character or use as a result of such disassembly and subsequent repair, but retain their identity as parts of the engine from which they were removed. Therefore, since these parts do not undergo a substantial transformation as a result of such disassembly and repair, the country of origin of such parts remains the country where the engine was produced and they must be marked accordingly. Foreign parts remaining in the U.S. and subsequently re-exported must undergo a substantial transformation in order to effect a change in the country of origin. Therefore, the parts imported after repair abroad remain products of England and should be marked accordingly.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 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, contact National Import Specialist Patrick Wholey at 646-733-3013.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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