OT:RR:NC:N2:220
Joey Li
Koda Electronics (HK) Co., Ltd
12/F Mandarin Commercial Building
Hong Kong
China
RE: The country of origin of a wireless mouse
Dear Mr. Li:
In your letter dated March 25, 2024. you requested a country of origin ruling.
The merchandise under consideration is identified as the Wireless Mouse, Model Number G75 (mouse), which is described as a wireless input device for use with automatic data processing (ADP) machines. The mouse consists of a plastic body shell, actuating buttons, and a scroll wheel. Internally, the mouse incorporates a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) that controls the input operations of the unit and communicates with the connected ADP machine. The mouse is packaged together in a retail box along with preinstalled batteries and a USB wireless receiver, which is stowed inside a slot in the mouse body until ready for use.
In your request, you state that the PCBA is manufactured in Vietnam by a surface mount process of electronic components and switches onto a bare printed circuit board. Also in Vietnam, the PCBA is inserted into the Vietnamese origin plastic body, wires are attached, the mouse is tested, inspected, subsequently packaged in a retail box for export to the United States.
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 country, the NAFTA Marking Rules will determine the country of origin.
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).
Regarding the country of origin of mouse, in our view, the assembly of the PCBA in Vietnam by soldering the individual components and switches onto a bare board results in a substantial transformation of those components to produce a PCBA of Vietnamese origin. Furthermore, it is the opinion of this office that the PCBA establishes the functionality of the mouse because it is the article within the assembly that detects the movement via the optical sensors, performs the scrolling functions, wirelessly transmits the encoder data to the connected ADP machine, and more. As such, we find that the individual components that make up the mouse are transformed in Vietnam into a new and different article of commerce with a distinct name, character, and use and the Mouse is considered a product of Vietnam for origin and marking purposes at the time of importation into the United States.
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 Karl Moosbrugger at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division