MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 731969 jd
William E. Melahn, Esq.
Doherty and Melahn
54 Montgomery Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
RE: Country of origin marking requirements applicable to tapered
Roller bearings
Dear Mr. Melahn:
This is in response to your letter of July 25, 1988,
concerning application of country of origin marking requirements
to imported tapered roller bearings. Customs in New York has
referred your letter to this office for reply.
FACTS:
Tapered roller bearings consist of a cup (also called the
outer ring), a cage, rollers, and a cone (also called the inner
ring). In this instance, the cup and cone are cold forged from
steel bar in Romania. After deburring and heat-treating, the
unfinished cup and cone, along with finished rollers, are sent to
Argentina for further processing.
In Argentina the unfinished cup and cone are finished,
machine ground, and superfinished. This involves grinding the
face, and outer and inner diameters of the cup and cone, as well
as honing the bearing contact surfaces of these two components.
Honing involves polishing the inner diameter of the cup and outer
diameter of the cone with very fine sandpaper to render them as
smooth as possible. Honing is the most crucial stage in the
refinement of the bearing surfaces.
The now complete cup and cone and the rollers are assembled
with a cage of Argentinean origin to produce a complete tapered
roller bearing. The final assembly process is not described but
we know from other experience with this type of article that the
assembly process is often as simple as force fitting the
components together.
-2-
The referral memorandum from Customs in New York expresses
the opinion that he country of origin of the finished tapered
roller bearings is Argentina. With regard to the Argentinean
processing they state, "It is this machining, grinding and
superfinishing in Argentina that enables the cups and cones to
achieve the necessary ABEC tolerance standards and develop those
characteristics that allow it to perform as an antifriction
bearing. With the exception of the rolling elements, all of
these items are finished and assembled together in Argentina.
Therefore it is our opinion that the merchandise is sufficiently
transformed to allow the country of origin of the completed
bearing to be considered Argentina."
ISSUE:
Based on the above description, are the Romanian components
substantially transformed by the processing in Argentina so as to
make Argentina the country of origin, for purposes of 19 U.S.C.
1304, of the completed tapered roller bearings?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19
U.S.C. 1304), provides that every article of foreign origin (or
its container) imported into the United States 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 United
States the English name of the country of origin of the article.
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 United States. 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 marking laws and regulations. The case of U.S. v.
Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 CCPA 267 (C.A.D. 98), provides that
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.
In Customs ruling RM 363.2 K (April 18, 1968), it states,
"The Bureau has also ruled that a manufacturer who processes
imported rough formed ball bearing races into finished races by
grinding and related finishing processes, and who uses such
finished races in the assembly of bearings with steel balls,
retainers (or separators), and plates or seals of United States
manufacture is considered to be the ultimate purchaser of the
imported rough formed races within the meaning of section
1304(a), title 19, United States Code."
-3-
The finding of substantial transformation of the races by
grinding and related processes is consistent with the opinion
that the cup and cone are transformed by the grinding and honing
taking place in Argentina. A comparison of the cup and cone upon
importation from Argentinean processing shows that the essence of
an antifriction bearing, i.e., the ultra smooth surfaces measured
in millionths of inches, is imparted by the processing in
Argentina.
In regard to serving the intent of the marking law, i.e.,
that the ultimate purchaser should be presented with information
that may influence his decision to purchase a product, we believe
an ultimate purchaser of a tapered roller bearing or ball bearing
is entitled to know the country wherein the product acquired the
characteristics of a finished bearing. In this instance, the
grinding and honing in Argentina is the place where the bearing
achieves ABEC rating and becomes commercially recognized as a
finished bearing. This rating is a measure of the class or
degree of precision of annular roller bearings or ball bearings
based on American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/
Antifriction Bearings Manufacturers Association (AFBMA) standard
#20.
HOLDING:
Based on the above considerations, the country of origin of
the finished tapered roller bearings is Argentina.
Sincerely,
John Durant
Director
Commercial Rulings Division