Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2007/02/20/07-740/notice-of-issuance-of-final-determination-concerning-bolt-container-seals-and-cable-seals
Timestamp: 2017-09-26 01:09:02
Document Index: 98131983

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 177', 'art 177', 'art 177', 'art 177', 'art 177', 'art 177', '§\u20092511']

Federal Register :: Notice of Issuance of Final Determination Concerning Bolt Container Seals and Cable Seals
The final determination was issued on February 8, 2007. 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 30 days of February 20, 2007.
I. Vu Bolt Container Seal
II. XBorder Cable Seal
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/07-740 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/07-740
This document provides notice that the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a final determination concerning the country of origin of certain bolt container seals and cable seals to be offered to the United States Government under an undesignated government procurement contract. For each of the Start Printed Page 7772two products, two different manufacturing scenarios were presented. Based upon the facts presented, the final determination found that China is the country of origin of the bolt container seal for purposes of U.S. Government procurement where the product is assembled in the United States from components of Chinese and Malaysian origin. Where a U.S.-origin lock body is used in the assembly of the bolt container seal in the United States, the final determination found that the country of origin of the lock body assembly is the United States and the country of origin of the imported bolt shank is China. With regard to the cable seal, the final determination found that the country of origin of the cable seal assembled in the United States from components of Chinese and Malaysian origin is China for purposes of U.S. Government procurement. The final determination also found that where a U.S.-origin lock body is used in the assembly of the cable seal in the United States, the country of origin of the cable seal is the United States for purposes of U.S. Government procurement.
Holly Files, Valuation and Special Programs Branch, Regulations and Rulings, Office of International Trade (202-572-8817).
Notice is hereby given that on February 8, 2007, pursuant to Subpart B of Part 177, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 177, subpart B), CBP issued a final determination concerning the country of origin of certain bolt container seals and cable seals to be offered to the United States Government under an undesignated government procurement contract. The CBP ruling number is HQ W563587. This final determination was issued at the request of TydenBrammall 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).
The final determination examined four different manufacturing scenarios. The first two scenarios involve the manufacture of the bolt container seal. The third and fourth scenarios involve the manufacture of the cable seal. The first scenario proposed the assembly of the bolt container seal in the United States solely from parts of foreign origin. In the second scenario, the bolt container seal was assembled in the United States from parts of U.S. and foreign origin. The final determination concluded that, based upon the facts presented in the first scenario, the assembly and packaging in the United States of five foreign-origin components to create the bolt container seal did not substantially transform the foreign components into a product of the United States. In the second scenario, the final determination found that the assembly of a U.S.-origin lock body with other foreign-origin components in the United States to form a lock body assembly substantially transformed the foreign components of the lock body assembly into a product of the United States. However, as one foreign-origin component, the bolt shank, was merely packaged with the lock body assembly, the final determination found that the bolt shank was not substantially transformed into a product of the United States. In the third scenario, the cable seal was assembled in the United States solely from parts of foreign origin. The fourth scenario involved the assembly of the cable seal in the United States from parts of U.S. and foreign origin. Based upon the facts presented in the third scenario, the final determination concluded that the assembly in the United States of four components of foreign origin to create the container seal did not substantially transform the foreign-origin components into a product of the United States. With regard to the facts presented in the fourth scenario, the final determination concluded that the assembly in the United States of a U.S.-origin lock body with foreign-origin components to create the container seal substantially transformed the foreign components into a product of the United States.
RE: U.S. Government Procurement; Final Determination; country of origin of bolt container seals and cable seals; substantial transformation; 19 CFR Part 177
This is in response to your letter dated September 5, 2006, requesting a final determination on behalf of TydenBrammall, pursuant to subpart B of Part 177, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 177.21 et seq.). Under these regulations, which implement Title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended (19 USC 2511 et seq.), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) issues country of origin advisory rulings and final determinations on whether an article is or would be a product of a designated foreign country or instrumentality for the purpose of granting waivers of certain “Buy American” restrictions in U.S. law or practice for products offered for sale to the U.S. Government.
This final determination concerns the country of origin of certain bolt container seals and cable seals. We note that TydenBrammall is a party-at-interest within the meaning of 19 CFR 177.22(d)(1) and is entitled to request this final determination. Confidential treatment for certain business information identified in your request for a final determination will be extended in accordance with your request. Photographs of the bolt container seals and cable seals were submitted with your request. In preparing this final determination, consideration was given to your supplemental submission dated December 12, 2006.
At the Indiana facility, a machine operator uses a press to seat the locking ring within the grooves of the lock body, and the operator gauges the locking ring to ensure proper placement within the lock body. Next, the lock body is inserted into the inner cover to form the lock body subassembly. The lock body subassembly is placed into a linear inkjet marking machine where a custom serialization number is applied to the subassembly. Then, the serialized subassemblies are inspected to ensure the correct serialization and quality. The serialized subassemblies are moved to an ultrasonic welding station where they are aligned in rows of five by ten and covered by the clear cover. There, the subassembly Start Printed Page 7773and clear cover are ultrasonically welded together and then inspected for quality. Finally, the completed subassemblies are packaged together with the bolt shanks in packages of 200 Vu Bolt Container Seals per box.
You advise us that TydenBrammall will manufacture the XBorder Cable Seal at its production facility in Angola, Indiana. The XBorder Cable Seal is intended for one-time use on trucks, shipping containers, and freight rail cars. A TydenBrammall press release emphasizes that the seal has a secure and permanent locking mechanism that makes cargo tampering virtually impossible without detection. Press Release, TydenBrammall, XborderTM Seal Secures High Risk Cargo, http://www.tydenbrammall.com/​cargoguy/​pressreleases/​xborder.pdf (last visited November 15, 2006). The XBorder Cable Seal is composed of the following four components: bolt shank, lock body, non-preformed cable, and locking ring. The bolt shank, lock body, and locking ring are manufactured in China, and the non-preformed cable is manufactured in Malaysia.
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 on 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.
In the first scenario, TydenBrammall proposes to assemble the Vu Bolt Container Seal entirely from imported parts. You contend that the various components are substantially transformed based on their assembly in the U.S. alone. The U.S. assembly operation that you describe consists of the assembly of a small number of parts, the addition of a serial number, the ultrasonic welding of a clear cover to the lock body assembly, and the packaging of the finished lock body assembly with the imported bolt shank. Similar to the situation described in HRL 735133, supra, we find that the described manufacturing process is a simple assembly operation of imported Start Printed Page 7774components that is not complex and meaningful enough to result in a substantial transformation. In considering the last country in which the container seal underwent a substantial transformation, we believe that the lock body primarily imparts the essential character of the container seal. While the seal numbers are a unique feature to the container seal, the lock body is the component that imparts the ability of the container seal to actually lock and secure the cargo. The lock body is also the most valuable component of the container seal. Therefore, based on the facts presented in the first scenario, we find that China is the country of origin of the Vu Bolt Container Seal.
[FR Doc. 07-740 Filed 2-16-07; 8:45 am]