MAR-2:OT:RR:NC:N2:206
Liliana Carranza
Uni-Trade Brokers LC
130 Flecha Lane Laredo, TX 78045
RE: The country of origin of an automotive windshield.
Dear Ms. Carranza:
This is in response to your letter, dated October 14, 2024, requesting a ruling on applicability of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the country of origin of a windshield for marking purposes and for purposes of applying trade remedies under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, from China, which you filed on behalf of Cristales Inastillables De México SA de CV. Please note that you will receive a separate letter addressing the USMCA eligibility from Valuation and Special Programs Branch in Regulations and Rulings Headquarters.
The item under consideration is an Automotive Windshield (Part Number #2000124977), which is an original equipment manufacturer good used with the Volkswagen ID Crozz SUV truck. You state that the “flat” glass (cleared, colored, and tinted) from China, various primers, adhesives, paints, and other miscellaneous items from the Unites States, and minor components from several other countries, are imported into Mexico for further processing with Mexican origin connectors and other parts. You provided a bill of materials (BOM), which contains the country of origin and value of each component.
The process involves a bending procedure, where the “flat” glass undergoes heating in the furnace up to 634°C, passing through 380 ceramic rollers at a speed of 170 mm per second. It then enters the press area, where a hot ring at 500°C lifts the glass as soon as it reaches the correct position and raises it until it contacts the male mold, which has a temperature of 450°C. The glass is bent by a pressing process with a torque of 100N on each corner of the ring, and the press applies the final curvature along two axes, as specified in the shape specification sheet, adopting the form of the male mold. After pressing, the glass is suctioned from two sections: the edge of the glass is suctioned by a vacuum called "impulse," and the center of the glass is suctioned by a vacuum called "hold." Both activate during the pressing of the glass and lift the glass. To prevent the glass from scratching or breaking when in contact with the mold, a Kevlar cloth is placed on the mold to avoid direct contact. The mold is lifted to allow space for the sliding carriage to enter the press area and receive the glass, which is suctioned by the mold and then ejected through a blowing process called “blow-off.” The glass is received by the anneal ring, which is mounted on the sliding carriage. When it reaches its annealing position, the glass is cooled simultaneously at 60 psi on the edges and with a fan operating at 80% capacity to give the glass its final strength and shape. After annealing, the glass is lifted by the "hood" using suction, allowing the sliding carriage to move back to the reception position to take the next glass. Simultaneously, the hood unloads the glass onto the last section of the sliding carriage, called the "catcher," which then opens at position 0 to unload the glass onto the cooling conveyor, whose function is solely to lower the glass temperature so it can be manually unloaded. The glass passes through the cooling conveyor and is either manually unloaded or directed to the assembly process.
The bending procedure is followed by lamination and installation of sensors, brackets, and pins to form the finished product, an automotive windshield.
Country of origin for marking purposes:
The marking statute, 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.
The "country of origin" is defined in 19 CFR 134.1(b) as "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; however, for a good of a NAFTA or USMCA country, the marking rules set forth in part 102 of this chapter (hereinafter referred to as the part 102 Rules) will determine the country of origin."
Pursuant to section 102.0, interim regulations, related to the marking rules, tariff-rate quotas, and other USMCA provisions, published in the Federal Register on July 6, 2021 (86 FR 35566), the rules set forth in §§ 102.1 through 102.18 and 102.20 determine the country of origin for marking purposes with respect to goods imported from Canada and Mexico. Section 102.11 provides a required hierarchy for determining the country of origin of a good for marking purposes, with the exception of textile goods which are subject to the provisions of 19 C.F.R. § 102.21. See 19 C.F.R. § 102.11.
Applied in sequential order, 19 CFR Part 102.11(a) provides that the country of origin of a good is the country in which:
(1) The good is wholly obtained or produced;
(2) The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or
(3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in Part 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied.
The windshield is neither "wholly obtained or produced" nor "produced exclusively from domestic materials." Therefore, paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) cannot be used to determine the country of origin of the windshield, and paragraph (a)(3) must be applied next to determine the origin of the finished article. The windshield is classified under subheading 8708.22, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The tariff shift requirement in Part 102.20 for the windshield at issue states:
A change to subheading 8708.22 from any other heading.
Based on the list of materials provided in the BOM, none of the components are classified in heading 8708, HTSUS. As a result, the tariff shift is met. Accordingly, the country of origin of the Automotive Windshield (Part Number #2000124977) for marking purposes is Mexico.
Country of origin for purposes of applying Section 301 trade remedies:
Regarding the applicability of Section 301 trade remedies to the windshield under consideration, CBP relies on the substantial transformation analysis when determining the country of origin for purposes of applying Section 301 trade remedies. The courts have held that a substantial transformation occurs when an article emerges from a process with a new name, character or use different from that possessed by the article prior to processing. United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., Inc., 27 CCPA 267, C.A.D. 98 (1940); National Hand Tool Corp. v. United States, 16 CIT 308 (1992), aff’d, 989 F. 2d 1201 (Fed. Cir. 1993); Anheuser Busch Brewing Association v. The United States, 207 U.S. 556 (1908) and Uniroyal Inc. v. United States, 542 F. Supp. 1026 (1982).
However, if the manufacturing or combining process is merely a minor one that leaves the identity of the article intact, a substantial transformation has not occurred. Uniroyal, Inc. v. United States, 3 CIT 220, 542 F. Supp. 1026, 1029 (1982), aff’d, 702 F.2d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (Uniroyal). Substantial transformation determinations are based on the totality of the evidence. See Headquarters Ruling (HQ) W968434, date January 17, 2007, citing Ferrostaal Metals Corp. v. United States, 11 CIT 470, 478, 664 F. Supp. 535, 541 (1987).
It is the opinion of this office that the flat glass undergoes a substantial transformation in Mexico and emerges from the above-mentioned processes in Mexico as an identifiable automotive windshield. As a result, the country of origin of the Automotive Windshield (Part Number #2000124977) for purposes of applying Section 301 trade remedies is Mexico.
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 Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by CBP.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border Protection 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, please contact National Import Specialist Liana Alvarez at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division