CLA-2-82:OT:RR:NC:N1:118
Steven Sheng
Meridian International Co., Ltd.
1886 Laiyin Road,
Songjiang Shanghai, 201615
China
RE: The classification, country of origin and marking of hammers.
Dear Mr. Sheng:
In your letter dated December 6, 2021, you requested a classification, country of origin and marking ruling. The imported articles are identified as: V221001 HAMMER CLAW 8OZ/225G FIBERGLASS HANDLE. These hammers consist of 8oz steel heads and fiberglass handles.
The manufacturing process for the hammers begins in Vietnam, where raw Chinese-origin steel is forged and sandblasted into the final shape and size of the imported hammer heads. A hole for the handle is machined into each of the heads, as is the final driving head. The steel hammer heads are then sent to China where they are heat-treated, polished, cleaned and coated with antirust oil. Finally, the hammer heads are assembled with Chinese-origin fiberglass handles, affixed with labels and packed for export to the United States.
The applicable subheading for the hammers (V221001 HAMMER CLAW 8OZ/225G FIBERGLASS HANDLE) will be 8205.20.3000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for handtools (including glass cutters) not elsewhere specified or included; blow torches and similar self-contained torches; vises, clamps and the like, other than accessories for and parts of machine tools; anvils; portable forges; hand- or pedal-operated grinding wheels with frameworks; base metal parts thereof: hammers and sledge hammers, and parts thereof: with heads not over 1.5 kg each. The rate of duty will be 6.2% ad valorem.
With regard to your request for the appropriate country of origin for the finished hammers, 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” within the meaning of this part;
The test for determining whether a substantial transformation will occur is whether an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use, different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. See Texas Instruments Inc. v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 151 (1982). This determination is based on the totality of the evidence. See National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 C.I.T. 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F.2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
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 our view, it is the forging of the hammer heads that imparts the essence of finished hammers. In Vietnam the hammer heads are forged and take on the shape and size of finished hammer heads. Based on the provided description and pictures of the assembly and finishing operations performed in China, the forged hammer heads are not substantially changed so as to transform them into a new article with a different name, character or use. Additionally, the hammer heads are not substantially transformed by the attachment of the handles. It is therefore the opinion of this office that the finished hammers should have a country of origin of Vietnam.
You also inquired as to the correct country of origin marking for the imported hammers. As products of Vietnam, in accordance 19 U.S.C. 1304, the hammers must be marked to indicate that their country of origin is Vietnam. This marking must be conspicuously, legibly and permanently marked in satisfaction of the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. § 1304 and 19 C.F.R. Part 134.
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 Anthony E. Grossi at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division