MAR-2:OT:RR:NC:N4:231
Mr. Chris LaCroix
Copper River Seafoods
1118 E. 5th Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501
RE: The country of origin of salmon from the United States filleted in China
Dear Mr. LaCroix: In your letter dated March 7, 2017 you requested a country of origin ruling on Marinated Salmon.
You have outlined a case in which salmon from the United States will be harvested and then headed, gutted and frozen in the United States. The resulting product is shipped to China where the salmon will be filleted, frozen and shipped back to the United States. After importation the frozen salmon fillets are thawed, cut into smaller pieces, and marinated. The product is packaged for sale in the United States. You seek a determination of the country of origin applicable to the packaged marinated salmon. 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). Based on Koru North America v. United States, 12 CIT 1120, 701 F. Suppl. 229 (C.I.T., 1988), it is a longstanding position of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that the conversion of whole fish into fillets constitutes a substantial transformation.
In the present case, the harvested, gutted and frozen salmon, while in China, undergo a filleting process, then are refrozen and shipped back to the United States. We thus find that the fish are substantially transformed as a result of the processing in China, and that therefore the country of origin of the marinated salmon is China. The packages should be marked accordingly, e.g., “Product of China.”
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 Ekeng Manczuk at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist