Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings for April 5

April 7, 2022 |Customs Rulings

The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated April 5 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):

H323855: Country of origin marking of a printed book; Section 301 Measures

Ruling: (1) The country of origin of the printed books is Hong Kong but the books must be marked as products of China. (2) Section 301 measures will not apply.

Issues: (1) What is the country of origin for marking purposes of the printed books? (2) Are the books subject to Section 301 measures?

Item: Instructional paperback books on quilting. According to your request, there are five titles in the shipment: four titles have 80 pages, and one title has 144 pages. The trim size for all the books is 8-3/8” x 10-7/8”. The pages are printed and folded in Hong Kong and then transferred to a plant in China for binding and packing. The binding process involves combining the book cover with the content pages using a cover-binding machine and binding glue. Then, a guillotine machine trims the books to final size. The books are classified under subheading 4901.99.00, as “Printed books, brochures, leaflets and similar printed matter, whether or not in single sheets.”

Reason: (1) CBP has consistently decided that gluing and cutting does not substantially transform the imported printed materials. Executive Order 13936 explicitly suspended the application of section 201(a) of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 to the CBP marking statute. Goods produced in Hong Kong may no longer be marked to indicate “Hong Kong” and, instead, must be marked to indicate that their origin is “China.” (2) When determining the country of origin for purposes of applying Section 301 measures, the substantial transformation analysis is applicable. Goods that are produced in Hong Kong are not currently considered to be products of China despite marking requirements.

Ruling Date: April 4, 2022