OT: RR: NC: N4:424
Mr. John Brew
Crowell & Moring, LLP
1001 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20004
RE: The Country of Origin of golf club heads finished in China
Dear Mr. Brew:
This is in response to your letter dated March 25, 2020, requesting a country of origin determination on behalf of your client, Acushnet Company, of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. A description of the manufacturing processes of golf club driver heads was submitted for our review.
The merchandise under consideration concerns two types of golf club heads imported by Acushnet, which are identified as titanium driver heads and iron heads of forged steel. According to the information that you have provided in your letter and email correspondence on April 10, 2020, both types of golf club heads will be manufactured in Taiwan and subject to finishing operations in China before importation into the United States.
You state that the titanium driver golf heads are formed through a series of casting processes in Taiwan using raw titanium ingots sourced from China. The production process begins in Taiwan using a lost wax casting process by which a molten metal is poured into molds that have been created by means of wax models which form the shape of the finished golf club heads. The wax models, carrying the construction and characteristic details of golf club heads, are assembled onto a casting tree which is then dipped into a series of slurries and sand mixtures to coat the wax with multiple layers of slurry and sand. This process creates a casting mold of layered, heat-resistant, hard-shelled clusters. The hard-shelled clusters are placed into a vacuum furnace, which heats the wax into a molten state so that it can be extracted from the clusters. This process leaves a void inside the casting cluster that can be filled with molten metal. The empty cluster is placed into a titanium casting furnace where titanium billets are melted under vacuum at a high temperature. When the requisite volume of titanium material has melted, the crucible of molten titanium is poured into the de-waxed and pre-heated shell clusters, thereby filling the clusters. After the casting is complete, the shell clusters undergo a de-shelling process and are broken into individually casted golf heads. Each casted titanium golf head is further sandblasted and polished into the final size and shape of the corresponding golf head model. The titanium driver golf heads are then inspected, packed and shipped to China for the final cosmetic finishing operations.
You further state that the iron golf club heads of forged steel are manufactured in Taiwan using two types of raw steel bars from sourced Taiwan or Japan. The production process begins in the Taiwan factory by producing forged and rolled bars of steel which are cut to precise lengths. The raw bars are bent by forging in preparation for the shape forging process. When the shape forging process is complete, tungsten caps are tack welded in place onto the forged articles. Once fully welded and polished, the iron golf heads are co-forged into their final shape. The completed steel forged iron golf club heads are then inspected, packed, and shipped from Taiwan to China for final cosmetic finishing operations.
According to your request, the finishing operations for both the titanium driver and steel forged iron golf club heads take place in China. It is noted that the golf club heads are subject to a number of finishing operations in China including face welding, hosel machining, plating, polishing, masking and painting or PVD coating, and decal application resulting in the cosmetically finished golf heads. The finished golf heads are then inspected, packed and exported.
With regard to your request for the appropriate country of origin of the aforementioned golf driver heads, 19 C.F.R. § 134.1(b) provides in pertinent part as follows:
Country of origin means 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 articles lose their identity and become articles having a new name, character, or use.
In order to determine whether a substantial transformation occurs when components of various origins are assembled into completed products, all factors such as the components used to create the product and manufacturing processes that these components undergo are considered in order to determine whether a product with a new name, character and use has been produced. No one factor is decisive, and assembly operations that are minimal will generally not result in a substantial transformation.
In this instance, it is this office’s opinion that the manufacturing operations of the titanium driver heads and the steel forged iron golf club heads in Taiwan provide the essence of these articles. The above-mentioned titanium casting processes from the raw titanium material as well as the steel forging processes of the iron to the final shape of the iron golf heads takes place in Taiwan. The finishing processes performed in China give the aesthetics to the casted and forged golf heads, which originated from Taiwan. In our view, these items are not substantially changed by the welding, machining, plating or other cosmetic finishing processes performed in China. Therefore, based on the facts presented in this case, the country of origin of both the titanium driver heads and forged steel iron golf club heads is Taiwan.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 177).
The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified in the ruling request. This position is clearly set forth in 19 CFR 177.9(b)(1). In the event that the facts or merchandise are modified in any way, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and you should resubmit for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2.
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 Roseanne Murphy at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division