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April 13, 1999

MAR-2-48:RR:NC:2:234 E80543

CATEGORY: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

Ms. Eleanore Kelly-Kobayashi
Rode & Qualey, Attorneys at Law
295 Madison Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10017

RE: Country of origin of certain paperboard boxes, imported from Switzerland.

Dear Ms. Kelly-Kobayashi:

In your letter dated April 7, 1999,on behalf of your client, CDE Cartondruck-Embadac U.S.A., Summit, New Jersey, (“CDE”) you requested a ruling on the country of origin of certain folding cartons imported from Switzerland. A sample was submitted, which represents the imported cartons in a condition in which they will be exported from Germany into Switzerland, for finishing, prior to their importation into the United States.

The sample is a die-cut folding carton of paperboard, surface colored, printed and scored, but not folded or glued.

CDE will be importing folding cartons classifiable in subheading 4819.20.00, HTSUS, for use mainly by cosmetic and fragrance companies. The company plans to purchase paperboard from Sweden or Finland which will be imported into Germany. In Germany the sheets of paperboard which measure approximately 26 inches by 40 inches will be printed and die cut and scored for folding. The cut paperboard will then be sent to Switzerland where it will be glued to form a folding carton. The finished cartons will then be packed, labeled and exported to the United States.

We note that you are of the opinion that the country of origin of the cartons imported from Switzerland according to this arrangement or “scenario” is or will be Switzerland. We disagree, as was explained in a telephone conference held April 9, 1999, at your request.

The secondary, minor, operations performed in Switzerland: gluing, sorting, quality control and packing, do not, in our opinion, effect a substantial transformation of the product imported into Switzerland from Germany.

The country of origin of CDE’s imported paperboard cartons, produced and imported as described, will be Germany.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter 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 this ruling, contact National Import Specialist Carl Abramowitz, at (212) 637-7060.

For your information, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has notified the U.S. Customs Service that implementation of a 100 percent rate of duty on products of Germany that are classified in the 8-digit HTS subheading 4819.20.00 may be imminent, and may be applied retroactively to March 3,1999. For current information, including special bonding requirements, refer to the Customs Web Site at WWW.CUSTOMS.USTREAS.GOV. Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski

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