Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 50 / Monday, March 16, 2015 / Notices 13589 

[FR Doc. 2015–05846 Filed 3–13–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–12–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Notice of Issuance of Final 

Determination Concerning Certain 

Notebook Computer Products 

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection, Department of Homeland 

Security. 

ACTION: Notice of final determination. 

SUMMARY: This document provides 

notice that U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection (‘‘CBP’’) has issued a final 

determination concerning the country of 

origin of certain notebook computer 

products known as the EliteBook 840– 

G1 Notebook. Based upon the facts 

presented, CBP has concluded that in all 

four scenarios, the country of origin of 

the notebook computer is Country A for 

purposes of U.S. Government 

procurement. 

DATES: The final determination was 

issued on March 10, 2015. A copy of the 

final determination is attached. Any 

party-at-interest, as defined in 19 CFR 

177.22(d), may seek judicial review of 

this final determination within April 15, 

2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Grace A. Kim, Valuation and Special 

Programs Branch, Regulations and 

Rulings, Office of International Trade 

(202) 325–7941. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that on March 10, 2015, 

pursuant to subpart B of Part 177, U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection 

Regulations (19 CFR part 177, subpart 

B), CBP issued a final determination 

concerning the country of origin of 

certain notebook computer products 

known as the EliteBook 840–G1 

Notebook, which may be offered to the 

U.S. Government under an 

undesignated government procurement 

contract. This final determination, HQ 

H240199, was issued under procedures 

set forth at 19 CFR part 177, subpart B, 

which implements Title III of the Trade 

Agreements Act of 1979, as amended 

(19 U.S.C. 2511–18). In the final 

determination, CBP concluded that in 

all four scenarios, the processing in 

Country D or F does not result in a 

substantial transformation. Therefore, 

the country of origin of the notebook 

computer in all four scenarios is 

Country A for purposes of U.S. 

Government procurement. 

Section 177.29, CBP Regulations (19 

CFR 177.29), provides that a notice of 

final determination shall be published 

in the Federal Register within 60 days 

of the date the final determination is 

issued. Section 177.30, CBP Regulations 

(19 CFR 177.30), provides that any 

party-at-interest, as defined in 19 CFR 

177.22(d), may seek judicial review of a 

final determination within 30 days of 

publication of such determination in the 

Federal Register. 

Dated: March 10, 2015. 

Glen E. Vereb, 

Acting Executive Director, Regulations and 

Rulings, Office of International Trade. 

HQ H240199 

March 10, 2015 

OT:RR:CTF:VS H240199 GaK 

CATEGORY: Origin 

Mr. Carlos Halasz 

Hewlett-Packard Company 

8501 SW 152 St. 

Palmetto Bay, FL 33157 

RE: U.S. Government Procurement; Country 

of Origin of Computer Notebook; 

Substantial Transformation 

Dear Mr. Halasz: 

This is in response to your letter dated 

March 14, 2013, and your supplemental 

submission dated March 10, 2014 requesting 

a final determination on behalf of HewlettPackard Company (‘‘HP’’) pursuant to 

Subpart B of Part 177 of the U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection (‘‘CBP’’) Regulations 

(19 CFR part 177). Under these regulations, 

which implement Title III of the Trade 

Agreements Act of 1979 (‘‘TAA’’), as 

amended (19 U.S.C. 2511 et seq.), CBP issues 

country of origin advisory rulings and final 

determinations as to whether an article is or 

would be product of a designated country or 

instrumentality for the purposes of granting 

waivers of certain ‘‘Buy American’’ 

restrictions in U.S. law or for products 

offered for sale to the U.S. Government. This 

final determination concerns the country of 

origin of HP’s EliteBook 840–G1 Notebook 

(‘‘Elitebook’’). As a U.S. importer, HP is a 

party-at-interest within the meaning of 19 

CFR 177.22(d)(1) and is entitled to request 

this final determination. A meeting was held 

at our office on January 5, 2015. 

In your letter, you requested confidential 

treatment for certain information contained 

in the file. Pursuant to 19 CFR 177.2(b)(7), 

the identified information has been bracketed 

and will be redacted in the public version of 

this final determination. 

FACTS: 

The Elitebook is a commercial notebook 

computer. The components of the Elitebook 

are sourced from various countries. The 

components include: 

• Base Unit: The base unit is the bottom 

of the finished notebook made of a metal 

frame, with metal or plastic skins. The base 

unit includes antennae, a printed circuit 

assembly (‘‘PCA’’), the central processing 

unit (‘‘CPU’’), the BIOS chip, the keyboard, 

cables, connectors and speakers. The CPU is 

sourced in Country A, [******] or Country G, 

[******]. The base unit is assembled in 

Country A, a non-TAA designated country. 

• Hinge-Up: The hinge-up is the top of the 

finished notebook. It consists of an LCD 

display, surrounding frame, and hinges for 

attachment to the base unit. The hinge-up is 

assembled in Country A. 

• Hard Disk Drive/Solid State Drive: The 

drives store data, including the operating 

system and value-added software. Both 

drives are sourced in Country A or Country 

B, [******] a TAA designated country. 

• WLAN Card: The WLAN card establishes 

wireless connections with other devices. It 

consists of a printed circuit board, radio 

frequency transmit/receive components and 

baseband processor. The country of origin of 

the WLAN card is Country A. 

• Random Access Memory (RAM): The 

RAM are integrated circuits affixed to a 

printed circuit board. It has direct access to 

the CPU and is the main memory system. It 

is produced in Country A, Country B, or 

Country C, [******] a TAA designated 

country. 

• Battery: The country of origin of the 

battery is Country A. 

• BIOS: The BIOS executes the 

instructions that start the notebook and 

prepares the hardware for use. It loads the 

operating system and passes control of many 

functions to the operating system. The BIOS 

is developed and written at HP’s laboratory 

in Country D, [******] a TAA designated 

country. 

• Operating system (‘‘OS’’): The OS works 

with application programs to perform user 

interface, job management, task management, 

data management, device management, and 

security. The OS is a third-party product that 

HP downloads onto most Elitebooks, and is 

developed in Country D. 

• Other minor components such as cables, 

brackets, screws, CD’s and manuals are 

sourced from a variety of countries, and 

comprise less than 2% of the Elitebook. 

The BIOS is electronically transmitted 

from Country D to Country E, [******] a 

TAA designated country, where it is 

maintained by a HP team. BIOS maintenance 

includes adding device support, such as a 

new wireless LAN card, and improving field 

issues that were not discovered during 

standard testing. HP states that the Elitebook 

is non-functional without the BIOS because 

it executes the instructions that start the 

notebook and provides the basic instructions 

for controlling the system hardware, and 

includes all necessary hardware drivers and 

provides a uniform interface for the OS to 

access the hardware. HP further states that 

the BIOS authenticates the hardware, OS, 

and application programs before they are 

loaded. 

According to your letter, HP will assemble 

the Elitebook by one of the four scenarios 

described below. 

Scenario 1: This scenario applies when all 

the components are imported to Country F, 

[******] a TAA designated country for 

assembly. 

1. The base unit is placed over the hingeup. 

2. The hinges are closed and screwed shut. 

3. Cables for the display and the antennae 

are routed and secured to avoid damage. 


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13590 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 50 / Monday, March 16, 2015 / Notices 

4. The unit is moved to a station where the 

memory, hard disk/solid state drive, and 

WLAN are installed into the unit, connected 

and secured in place. 

5. The battery is inserted into the base unit. 

6. The unit is moved to the next station 

where the OS is downloaded onto the hard 

disk/solid state drive. The BIOS is 

downloaded on the flash device (BIOS chip) 

that is inside the base unit. 

After assembly is complete, the unit goes 

through a testing phase, where the operator 

performs tests as indicated by HP developed 

diagnostic software and addresses any 

problems that arise. The acceptable units are 

sent to packaging and 4% of the units are 

reviewed for quality assurance, which 

consists of a ‘‘hood off’’ audit to ensure that 

all components are present, a ‘‘pre-test’’ 

using a software diagnostic program, and a 

‘‘run-in’’ software diagnostic program to 

identify possible errors that are fixed after the 

run. After packaging, 2% of the units are 

opened for an ‘‘out of the box audit’’ to 

ensure that all accessories are included and 

the ‘‘run-in’’ test is executed. 

Scenario 2: This scenario is identical to 

Scenario 1 except that the base unit and the 

hinge-up are combined in Country A and 

imported into Country F for remaining 

assembly processes, testing, quality control 

and packaging. 

Scenario 3: This scenario is identical to 

Scenario 1 except that all the hardware 

components are assembled in Country A 

before they are imported to Country F. The 

production/assembly that occurs in Country 

F are the BIOS and the OS download as well 

as the testing, quality control and packaging. 

Scenario 4: In this scenario, all the 

hardware components are assembled in 

Country A and imported to Country D. The 

BIOS and the OS is downloaded in Country 

D then the notebook goes through testing, 

quality control and packaging. 

ISSUE: 

In each scenario, what is the country of 

origin of the Elitebook for purposes of U.S. 

government procurement? 

LAW AND ANALYSIS: 

Pursuant to Subpart B of Part 177, 19 CFR 

177.21 et seq., which implements Title III of 

the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as 

amended (19 U.S.C. 2511 et seq.), CBP issues 

country of origin advisory rulings and final 

determinations as to whether an article is or 

would be a product of a designated country 

or instrumentality for the purposes of 

granting waivers of certain ‘‘Buy American’’ 

restrictions in U.S. law or practice for 

products offered for sale to the U.S. 

Government. 

Under the rule of origin set forth under 19 

U.S.C. 2518(4)(B): 

An article is a product of a country or 

instrumentality only if (i) it is wholly the 

growth, product, or manufacture of that 

country or instrumentality, or (ii) in the case 

of an article which consists in whole or in 

part of materials from another country or 

instrumentality, it has been substantially 

transformed into a new and different article 

of commerce with a name, character, or use 

distinct from that of the article or articles 

from which it was so transformed. 

See also 19 CFR 177.22(a). 

In determining whether the combining of 

parts or materials constitutes a substantial 

transformation, the determinative issue is the 

extent of operations performed and whether 

the parts lose their identity and become an 

integral part of the new article. Belcrest 

Linens v. United States, 573 F. Supp. 1149 

(Ct. Int’l Trade 1983), aff’d, 741 F.2d 1368 

(Fed. Cir. 1984). Assembly operations that are 

minimal or simple, as opposed to complex or 

meaningful, will generally not result in a 

substantial transformation. See C.S.D. 80– 

111, C.S.D. 85–25, C.S.D. 89–110, C.S.D. 89– 

118, C.S.D. 90–51, and C.S.D. 90–97. If the 

manufacturing or combining process is a 

minor one which leaves the identity of the 

article intact, a substantial transformation has 

not occurred. Uniroyal, Inc. v. United States, 

3 Ct. Int’l Trade 220, 542 F. Supp. 1026 

(1982), aff’d 702 F. 2d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 1983). 

‘‘The term ‘character’ is defined as ‘one of 

the essentials of structure, form, materials, or 

function that together make up and usually 

distinguish the individual. ’’’ Uniden 

America Corporation v. United States, 120 F. 

Supp. 2d. 1091, 1096 (citations omitted) (Ct. 

Int’l Trade 2000), citing National Hand Tool 

Corp. v. United States, 16 Ct. Int’l Trade 308, 

311 (1992). In Uniden (concerning whether 

the assembly of cordless telephones and the 

installation of their detachable A/C 

(alternating current) adapters constituted 

instances of substantial transformation), the 

Court of International Trade applied the 

‘‘essence test’’ and found that ‘‘[t]he essence 

of the telephone is housed in the base and 

the handset. 

In Data General v. United States, 4 Ct. Int’l 

Trade 182 (1982), the court determined that 

for purposes of determining eligibility under 

item 807.00, Tariff Schedules of the United 

States (predecessor to subheading 

9802.00.80, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 

the United States), the programming of a 

foreign PROM (Programmable Read-Only 

Memory chip) in the United States 

substantially transformed the PROM into a 

U.S. article. In programming the imported 

PROMs, the U.S. engineers systematically 

caused various distinct electronic 

interconnections to be formed within each 

integrated circuit. The programming 

bestowed upon each circuit its electronic 

function, that is, its ‘‘memory’’ which could 

be retrieved. A distinct physical change was 

effected in the PROM by the opening or 

closing of the fuses, depending on the 

method of programming. This physical 

alteration, not visible to the naked eye, could 

be discerned by electronic testing of the 

PROM. The court noted that the programs 

were designed by a U.S. project engineer 

with many years of experience in ‘‘designing 

and building hardware.’’ In addition, the 

court noted that while replicating the 

program pattern from a ‘‘master’’ PROM may 

be a quick one-step process, the development 

of the pattern and the production of the 

‘‘master’’ PROM required much time and 

expertise. The court noted that it was 

undisputed that programming altered the 

character of a PROM. The essence of the 

article, its interconnections or stored 

memory, was established by programming. 

The court concluded that altering the nonfunctioning circuitry comprising a PROM 

through technological expertise in order to 

produce a functioning read only memory 

device, possessing a desired distinctive 

circuit pattern, was no less a ‘‘substantial 

transformation’’ than the manual 

interconnection of transistors, resistors and 

diodes upon a circuit board creating a similar 

pattern. 

In Texas Instruments v. United States, 681 

F.2d 778, 782 (CCPA 1982), the court 

observed that the substantial transformation 

issue is a ‘‘mixed question of technology and 

customs law.’’ 

In C.S.D. 84–85, 18 Cust. B. & Dec. 1044, 

CBP stated: 

We are of the opinion that the rationale of 

the court in the Data General case may be 

applied in the present case to support the 

principle that the essence of an integrated 

circuit memory storage device is established 

by programming; . . . [W]e are of the opinion 

that the programming (or reprogramming) of 

an EPROM results in a new and different 

article of commerce which would be 

considered to be a product of the country 

where the programming or reprogramming 

takes place. 

Accordingly, the programming of a device 

that confers its identity as well as defines its 

use generally constitutes substantial 

transformation. See also Headquarters Ruling 

Letter (‘‘HQ’’) 558868, dated February 23, 

1995 (programming of SecureID Card 

substantially transforms the card because it 

gives the card its character and use as part 

of a security system and the programming is 

a permanent change that cannot be undone); 

HQ 735027, dated September 7, 1993 

(programming blank media (EEPROM) with 

instructions that allow it to perform certain 

functions that prevent piracy of software 

constitute substantial transformation); and, 

HQ 733085, dated July 13, 1990; but see HQ 

732870, dated March 19, 1990 (formatting a 

blank diskette does not constitute substantial 

transformation because it does not add value, 

does not involve complex or highly technical 

operations and did not create a new or 

different product); and, HQ 734518, dated 

June 28, 1993, (motherboards are not 

substantially transformed by the implanting 

of the central processing unit on the board 

because, whereas in Data General use was 

being assigned to the PROM, the use of the 

motherboard had already been determined 

when the importer imported it). 

Scenario 1 and 2: 

In Scenario 1, the base unit containing a 

PCA, CPU, BIOS chip, amongst other 

components is placed over the hinge-up 

(which contains a LCD display) in Country F. 

The hard disk drive and WLAN are installed 

and the OS and BIOS are downloaded. In 

Scenario 2, the base unit and hinge-up are 

already assembled in Country A before 

importation into Country F. After the 

hardware components are assembled, the 

BIOS is downloaded onto the flash device. 

HP claims that as a result of the assembly 

operations performed in Country F, the 

various foreign components undergo a 

substantial transformation, such that the 

finished Elitebook becomes a product of 

Country F for purposes of U.S. Government 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 50 / Monday, March 16, 2015 / Notices 13591 

procurement. HP cites HQ 560677, dated 

February 3, 1998, to support the argument 

that the assembly operations coupled with 

the BIOS download transform discrete and 

inoperable components into a finished 

product with a different name, character and 

use. In HQ 560677, CBP considered two 

different notebook computers manufactured 

in the U.S. with parts and components from 

various countries. In the first scenario, the 

imported chassis included the LCD and the 

CPU from various countries, but the BIOS 

and memory modules were not included. 

Other imported components were the hard 

disk drive (Thailand), BIOS chip (U.S.), 

floppy disk drive (China), AC adapter 

(China), CD ROM (Japan), fax modem cards 

(U.S.), a docking station (Taiwan), and 

memory board (Korea, Japan, or Singapore). 

The assembly process in the U.S. consisted 

of installing the BIOS chip (which was of 

U.S. origin), the memory modules, the hard 

disk drive, the network interface card, and 

downloading the flash BIOS into non-volatile 

RAM. In the second scenario, the imported 

chassis included the LCD screen (Taiwan), 

the floppy disc drive (China), and the BIOS 

chip but neither the keyboard, the CPU nor 

other primary chips were included. Similar 

components as in the first scenario were 

imported and the assembly process in the 

U.S. consisted of installing the CPU 

processor module (of U.S. origin), the hybrid 

cooler, the keyboard, the memory modules, 

the hard disk drive, the PCMCIA modem 

card, and downloading the flash BIOS into 

non-volatile RAM. CBP concluded that the 

foreign components used in the manufacture 

of the notebook computers lost their separate 

identities and became an integral part of a 

notebook computer as a result of the 

operations performed in the U.S. 

HQ H241177, dated December 3, 2013, 

Ethernet switches were assembled to 

completion in Malaysia and then shipped to 

Singapore, where U.S.-origin software was 

downloaded onto the switches. CBP found 

that the software downloading performed in 

Singapore did not amount to programming 

and that the country of origin was Malaysia, 

where the last substantial transformation 

occurred. 

In this case, the base unit is assembled in 

Country A and it includes the antennae, 

printed circuit assembly, CPU, BIOS chip, 

keyboard, cables, connectors, and speakers. 

The base unit is imported into Country F and 

the BIOS from Country D is downloaded. 

Based on the facts in this case and consistent 

with the Customs rulings cited above, we 

find that under Scenarios 1 and 2, the last 

substantial transformation of the Elitebook 

components occurs in Country A. Most of the 

major components are sourced in Country A, 

unlike HQ 560677, where the components 

came from various countries and in each 

scenario a major component (BIOS chip or 

CPU) was of U.S. origin, where the assembly 

occurred. Further, downloading the BIOS 

does not substantially transform the 

Elitebook. Therefore, we find that the country 

of origin for purposes of U.S. Government 

procurement in Scenarios 1 and 2 is Country 

A. 

Scenario 3: 

In Scenario 3, all of the hardware 

components are assembled in Country A and 

imported into Country F. The operations that 

occur in Country F are BIOS download, OS 

download, testing, quality control and 

packaging. The issue is whether the 

downloading of the BIOS and OS 

substantially transforms the notebook 

computer. As indicated above, the 

programming of a device that defines its use 

generally constitutes a substantial 

transformation. Software downloading by 

itself, however, does not amount to 

programming, which involves writing, testing 

and implementing code necessary to make a 

computer function in a certain way. See HQ 

H241177 (Dec. 3, 2013) supra, see also Data 

General supra. 

Consistent with the Customs rulings cited 

above, we find that the BIOS and OS 

downloading does not result in a substantial 

transformation in Country F. Given these 

facts, we find that the country where the last 

substantial transformation occurs is Country 

A, where the major assembly processes are 

performed. The country of origin for 

purposes of U.S. Government procurement in 

Scenario 3 is Country A. 

Scenario 4: 

Here, all of the hardware components are 

assembled in Country A and imported into 

Country D. In Country D, the BIOS and OS 

are downloaded and the Elitebook is tested 

for quality assurance and packaged. As 

indicated above, software downloading by 

itself does not result in a substantial 

transformation. Consistent with the Customs 

rulings cited above, we find that the country 

where the last substantial transformation 

occurs is Country A, where the major 

assembly processes are performed. The 

country of origin for purposes of U.S. 

Government procurement in Scenario 4 is 

Country A. 

HOLDING: 

Based on the facts of this case, we find that 

in Scenarios 1, 2, 3, and 4, the last substantial 

transformation takes place in Country A. The 

country of origin of the Elitebook is Country 

A for purposes of U.S. Government 

procurement and country of origin marking. 

Notice of this final determination will be 

given in the Federal Register, as required by 

19 CFR § 177.29. Any party-at-interest other 

than the party which requested this final 

determination may request, pursuant to 19 

CFR § 177.31, that CBP reexamine the matter 

anew and issue a new final determination. 

Pursuant to 19 CFR § 177.30, any party-atinterest may, within 30 days of publication 

of the Federal Register Notice referenced 

above, seek judicial review of this final 

determination before the Court of 

International Trade. 

Sincerely, 

Glen E. Vereb 

Acting Executive Director, Regulations and 

Rulings, Office of International Trade 

[FR Doc. 2015–05954 Filed 3–13–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–14–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency 

[Docket ID FEMA–2015–0006] 

Notice of Public Meetings on the 

Proposed Revised Guidelines for 

Implementing Executive Order 11988, 

Floodplain Management, As Revised 

Through the Federal Flood Risk 

Management Standard 

AGENCY: Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice is to announce 

two public meetings to solicit public 

input on the proposed ‘‘Revised 

Guidelines for Implementing Executive 

Order 11988, Floodplain Management.’’ 

DATES: The first public meeting will be 

held in Fairfax, VA on March 24, 2015, 

from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time (ET). The second public meeting 

will be held by webinar on March 25, 

2015, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Eastern Time (ET). 

ADDRESSES: The first public meeting 

will be held in Fairfax, VA, at George 

Mason University, 4400 University 

Drive, Jackson Center Building #30, 

Fairfax, VA 22030. The second public 

meeting will be by webinar. 

For information on facilities or 

services for individuals with disabilities 

or to request special assistance at the 

meeting, please contact the person listed 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section by March 20. 

Due to space constraints of the 

facility, seating will be limited to 300 

participants for the Fairfax, VA meeting. 

To reserve a seat in advance for this 

meeting, or the webinar, please provide 

a request via email or mail with the 

contact information of the participant 

(including name, mailing address, and 

email address), the meeting(s) to be 

attended, and include the subject/

attention line (or on the envelope if by 

mail): Reservation Request for FFRMS 

Meeting. Advance reservations must be 

received 3 business days prior to each 

meeting to ensure processing. 

Unregistered participants will be 

accepted after all participants with 

reservations have been accommodated 

and will be admitted on a first-come, 

first-serve basis, provided the person 

capacity is not exceeded. To submit 

reservations, please email: FEMA– 

FFRMS@fema.dhs.gov or send by mail 

to the address listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT caption. 

To facilitate public participation, 

members of the public are invited to 


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