MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Jeffrey David D’Angelo
Vice President
Narragansett Jewelry Co., Inc.
100 Dupont Drive
Providence, RI 02919
RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF STERLING SILVER RINGS CAST FROM WAX TEMPLATES MADE IN COSTA RICA
Dear Mr. D’Angelo:
This is in response to your letter dated November 21, 2013, requesting a ruling on the country of origin of sterling silver rings cast in the United States using wax templates made in Costa Rica. Described below are the manufacturing procedures of work performed in the United States and Costa Rica:
Procedure – 1: United States
Models are made in Providence, Rhode Island of designs to be produced, and sent abroad to Costa Rica for waxes to be made.
Procedure – 2: Costa Rica
Models are placed between two pieces of rubber and put in a vulcanizer to form molds of rings through heat and pressure. When the molds are complete the production of waxes can begin. Operators carefully inject the molds with special waxes to obtain copies of desired models. Wax pellets are melted and then injected into molds to form wax rings. Waxes are cleaned thoroughly to remove excess material and any imperfections. Afterwards, the wax rings are packed in a box with cotton for export to Providence, Rhode Island.
Procedure – 3: United States
Pre/casting steps (1) In order to cast the pieces, they are placed on wax tubes called trees, and then rubber bases and steel flasks are added, (2) The flasks are then put into a vacuum investment machine where it gets filled with an investment slurry and vacuumed free of air bubbles, (3) The flasks must be left resting for 2 hours to allow the investment to set properly, and (4) The flasks are put in an oven for 18 hours until the wax inside is completely burned and gone.
Casting steps (1) After the waxes are burned, the flasks are placed into casting machines, (2) United States {sterling silver} casting grain is injected inside vacuum sealed compartments, (3) The flasks must be cooled down for 25 minutes at room temperature, and then submerged in cold water, so that the trees can be removed, (4) Operators carefully cut the trees, and (5) The cast rings go through bombing, which is a chemical process that cleans and improves the surface of the work pieces.
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 its 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.” See United States v. Friedlander & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302; C.A.D. 104 (1940).
19 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 134, implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. §1304. Stipulated in 19 CFR 134.1 (b) the term “country of origin” is defined 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 this part; however, for a good of a NAFTA country, the NAFTA Marking Rules will determine the country of origin.
A substantial transformation occurs when, as a result of manufacturing process, a new and different article emerges, having a distinct name, character or use, which is different from that originally possessed by the article or material before being subjected to the manufacturing process. See Texas Instruments, Inc. v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 142, 681 F.2d 778 (1982). Stated differently, yet with essentially the same meaning, a substantial transformation is said to have occurred when an article emerges from a manufacturing process with a name, character, or use that differs from the original material subjected to the process. See M.B.I. Merchandise Industries, Inc. v. United States, 16 C.I.T. 495, 502 (1992) (citing United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 267, 270 (C.A.D. 98) (1940)).
Similar to HQ 555801 dated January 2, 1991, where the casting of precious metal alloys into a ring and mounting a gemstone resulted in a substantial transformation, we find the silver grain of United States origin cast into rings in the United States, even without the setting of a gemstone, results in a new and different article of commerce from that of its constituent material, the burned off waxes, resulting in the manufacture of silver rings. Without casting of the precious metal alloys, the mounting of a gemstone onto a ring is considered a simple combining operation, and is not, in and of itself a substantial transformation. Furthermore, consistent with HQ 562526 dated November 15, 2002, we find from the pre/casting steps through the casting steps to embrace one continuous process that transforms the silver grain into finished silver rings. Accordingly, the entire casting process constitutes a single substantial transformation of the jewelry pieces, with country of origin being that of the United States.
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 Neil H. Levy at (646) 733-3036.
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Acting Director
National Commodity Specialist Division