This subpart applies to the issuance of country-of-origin advisory rulings and final determinations relating to Government procurement under Title III, “Trade Agreements Act of 1979,” Pub. L. 96-39, 93 Stat. 144, for the purpose of granting waivers of certain “Buy American” restrictions in U.S. law or practice for products for eligible countries. This subpart is intended to be applied consistent with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (48 CFR chapter 1) and the Defense Acquisition Regulation (48 CFR chapter 2).

(a) Country of origin. For the purpose of this subpart, an article is a product of a country or instrumentality only if (1) it is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of that country or instrumentality, or (2) in the case of an article which consists in whole or in part of materials from another country or instrumentality, it has been substantially transformed into a new and different article of commerce with a name, character, or use distinct from that of the article or articles from which it was so transformed. The term “instrumentality” shall not be construed to include any agency or division of the government of a country, but may be construed to include such arrangements as the European Economic Community.

(b) Advisory ruling. An advisory ruling is a non-binding, non-reviewable written statement issued by the Director, Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division, Regulations and Rulings, Headquarters, U.S. Customs and Border protection, which does no more than call attention to a well established interpretation or principal of law relating to the country of origin, without applying it to a particular set of facts. CBP will issue an advisory ruling in response to a request for a final determination if:

(1) The request suggests that general information, rather than a final determination, is actually being sought,

(2) The request is incomplete or otherwise fails to meet the requirements set forth in § 177.25(a), or

(3) The ruling requested cannot be issued for any other reason, and CBP believes that the general information supplied by an advisory ruling may be of some benefit to the party making the request. An advisory ruling is not a ruling issued prior to importation under 28 U.S.C. 1581(h).

(c) Final determination. A final determination is a binding judicially reviewable statement issued by the Executive Director, Regulations and Rulings, Office of International Trade, Headquarters, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in response to a written request submitted under the provisions of this subpart that interprets and applies the provisions of law and regulation relating to the country of origin to a specific set of facts. A final determination may be issued to a party-at-interest prior to actual entry of the merchandise.

(d) Party-at-interest. For purposes of this subpart the term party-at-interest means:

(1) A foreign manufacturer, producer, or exporter, or a United States importer of merchandise which is the subject of a final determination under this subpart,

(2) A manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler in the United States of a like product,

(3) United States members of a labor organization or other association of workers whose members are employed in the manufacture, production, or wholesale in the United States of a like product, and

(4) A trade or business association a majority of whose members manufacture, produce, or wholesale a like product in the United States.

A country-of-origin advisory ruling or final determination may be requested by:

(a) A foreign manufacturer, producer, or exporter, or a United States importer of merchandise,

(b) A manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler in the United States of a like product,

(c) United States members of a labor organization or other association of workers whose members are employed in the manufacture, production, or wholesale in the United States of a like product, or

(d) A trade or business association a majority of whose members manufacture, produce, or wholesale a like product in the United States.

A request may be filed by an individual or organization listed in § 177.23 or by a duly authorized attorney or agent on behalf of the individual or organization. A request filed by a corporation shall be signed by a corporate officer, and a request filed by a partnership shall be signed by a partner.

(a) A request for an advisory ruling shall be in writing and shall contain such information as will enable Customs to provide the requester with the applicable principle of law or well established interpretation relating to the particular country of origin.

(b) A request for a final determination shall be in writing and shall contain the following information:

(1) The name of the requester, the requester's principal place of business, and a statement that the requester is authorized to file the request under the provisions of § 177.24;

(2) A description of the existing article for which a country-of-origin determination is requested;

(3) The country or instrumentality an article is claimed to be the product of;

(4) Such further information as will enable Customs to determine if an article is a product of a specific country or instrumentality, and;

(5) If applicable, the specific procurement for which the final determination is requested.

The request shall be filed with the Executive Director, Regulations and Rulings, Office of International Trade, Headquarters, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20229.

Any party authorized to request a ruling under the provisions of § 177.23 may request an opportunity for oral discussion of the issues presented in the request. The oral discussion of issues will be governed by the provisions of § 177.4.

(a) Pursuant to a request for an advisory ruling which meets the requirements of this subpart, Customs will promptly issue an advisory ruling.

(b) Pursuant to a request for a final determination which meets the requirements of this subpart, Customs will promptly issue a final determination. If the request does not meet the requirements of this subpart Customs may decline to issue a final determination or may issue instead an advisory ruling.

(c) Requests for final determinations which include the information set forth in § 177.25(b)(5) (relating to a specific procurement) will be considered by Customs before all other requests (advisory rulings and final determinations).

Notice of all final determinations shall be published in the Federal Register within 60 days of the date the final determination is issued.

Any party-at-interest listed in § 177.22(d) may seek judicial review of a final determination within 30 days after publication of such determination in the Federal Register, and may seek judicial review of a refusal to issue a final determination within 30 days after such refusal. The Court of International Trade shall have exclusive jurisdiction to review a final determination or a refusal to issue a final determination made under this subpart.

A party-at-interest, other than the party-at-interest which requested and received the initial final determination, may ask Customs to consider the matter anew and issue, on an expedited basis, a new final determination. Such a request shall specifically identify the previous final determination. Upon receipt of such a request, Customs will issue a new final determination within five working days of receipt of the request unless (a) the previous final determination was the subject of a contested lawsuit timely filed in the Court of International Trade under 28 U.S.C. 1581(e) or, (b) the merchandise at issue in the initial final determination was tendered and deemed responsive to the request for proposals or an invitation for bids in a competitive procurement subject to the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a et seq.) and a contract under such procurement was let. Any new final determination issued under this section shall be published in accordance with § 177.29 and is reviewable under § 177.30.