MAR-2-03:OT:RR:NC:N2:231
Mr. Elon A. Pollack
Stein Shostak Shostak Pollack & O’Hara, LLP
865 South Figueroa Street (Suite 1388)
Los Angeles, CA 90017
RE: The tariff classification and country of origin of frozen Saudi Arabian shrimp after processing in another country.
Dear Mr. Pollack:
In your letters dated April 29 and May 22, 2015, you requested a tariff classification and country-of-origin ruling on behalf of your client, NuStyle Co. (Taipei City, Taiwan).
You have outlined a scenario in which warm-water shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) will be farm-raised and harvested in Saudi Arabia. Domestic (Saudi) larvae and feed will be used in that operation. Your client will subsequently purchase the farm-raised Saudi shrimp and import them, in frozen condition, into its own facilities in either Taiwan or Malaysia. At those facilities, the shrimp will undergo the following processing steps:
Defrosting
Peeling (removal of the heads and shells)
Deveining
Leavening (2-hour soaking, in water mixed with small amounts of trisodium citrate and citric acid, intended to prevent dehydration and other damage to the shrimp meat during the freezing process)
Rinsing and freezing
After being processed as indicated above in Taiwan or Malaysia, the raw, frozen shrimp will be packed and exported to the United States. You seek a determination as to the proper tariff classification and country of origin, for marking purposes, of the processed shrimp upon entry into the U.S.
The applicable subheading for the frozen, processed shrimp will be 0306.17.0040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine … : frozen: other shrimps and prawns: peeled, imported in accordance with Statistical Note 1 to chapter 3. The rate of duty will be Free.
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 merchandise may be subject to additional requirements administered by the following agencies, whose addresses are provided for your reference:
U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Oceans & Int’l. Environmental & Scientific Affairs
Office of Marine Conservation
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Telephone: (202) 647-2335
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Division of Import Operations and Policy
12420 Parklawn Drive (Room 3109)
Rockville, MD 20857
Telephone: (301) 796-0356
Email address: [email protected]
This merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html.
With regard to country of origin, Section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) 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.
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 U.S. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such country the country of origin within the meaning of Part 134 of the regulations.
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 the present case, we find that the processing of the shrimp in Taiwan or Malaysia by the means you outline does not effect a substantial transformation. Accordingly, we find that even after being processed in your client’s facilities, the products retain their initial country-of-origin status for CBP marking purposes. Therefore, the packages of processed shrimp entering the United States must be marked to indicate that their contents are products of the original country, e.g., “Product of Saudi Arabia.” Also, if the shrimp will be repackaged after importation, the certification procedures of 19 CFR 134.25/134.26 should be followed.
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 Nathan Rosenstein at the email address [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director,
National Commodity Specialist Division