CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:TA:349
Ms. Bonnie Gulyas Reimer
Mannington Mills, Inc.
75 Mannington Mills Rd.
Salem, NJ 08079
RE: The tariff classification and country of origin for vinyl flooring tiles from China
Dear Ms. Reimer:
In your letter you requested a tariff classification and country of origin ruling.
The submitted sample is a portion of a vinyl flooring tile. The tiles will be imported 12, 16 and 18 inch squares and in planks ranging from 3 x 36 to 5 x 36 inches. Both the squares and the planks are considered tiles. The sample has a simulated wood grain design. A warp knit pile fabric is attached to the back of the tile. The fabric is composed of thin layers of plastic sheeting and nonwoven fabric held together by the warp knit. The tiles are designed to be attached to a plastic hook plate placed on the floor. The loops on the back of the tiles and the hooks on the floor plates act in the same manner as hook and loop fasteners.
You have described two manufacturing scenarios. In the first scenario the vinyl tile is manufactured in China and shipped to Canada. The looped fabric is formed in Canada and applied to the back of the tiles. The tiles are then packaged and shipped to the United States. In the second scenario the Canadian fabric is shipped to China and attached to the Chinese made tiles. The tiles are packaged and shipped to the United States. The plastic hook plates are manufactured in Canada and are not part of this request.
You ask whether the addition of the looped fabric will result in a change in the country of origin of the tiles. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Pursuant to 19 CFR Section 134.1(b), the country of origin is 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.”
A substantial transformation occurs when a new and different article of commerce emerges from a process with a new name, character or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. See United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 (C.A.D. 98) (1940). In determining whether the combining of parts or materials constitutes a substantial transformation, the issue is the extent of operations performed and whether the parts lose their identity and become an integral part of the new article. See Belcrest Linen v. United States, 6 CIT 204, 573 F. Supp. 1149 (1983), aff'd, 2 Fed.Cir. 105, 741 F.2d 1368 (1984). Assembly operations which are minimal or simple, as opposed to complex or meaningful, will generally not result in a substantial transformation. See, C.S.D.'s 80-111, 89-110, 89-129, 90-51. The process described, the addition of the looped fabric to the vinyl tiles, does not result in a substantial transformation of the vinyl tiles.
Accordingly, for the purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1304, the vinyl tiles are not substantially transformed by the addition of the looped Canadian fabric in either Canada or China. The country of origin of the tiles in both scenarios in China.
The applicable subheading for the vinyl tiles will be 3918.10.1000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for floor coverings of plastics, whether or not self-adhesive, in rolls or the form of tiles; of polymers of vinyl chloride: floor coverings: vinyl tile. The general rate of duty will be 5.3 percent ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 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 John Hansen at (646) 733-3043.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division