CBP Finds Sweden Is Country of Origin for 3M Welding Respiration System
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a final determination that the Sweden is the country of origin of an Adflo™ Respiration System1 used in a welding environment for purposes of U.S. government procurement.
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The final determination was issued at the request of 3M Company.
(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 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.)
Major Parts from Sweden, Packaging & Minor Assembly by Customer Occurs in U.S.
The 3M Adflo respiration system is comprised of six major components all of which are manufactured in Sweden. There are two other minor components included in the system, a battery charger and a gas filter, which are made in Germany. One of these components, the gas filter, is installed into the Adflo respiration system in Sweden. In addition, a cloth carrying bag made in the U.S. (but which could eventually be sourced from other countries such as China) is included with the respiration system as a courtesy item.
All of the components are packaged together in the U.S. No processing is performed on the battery charger and the cloth bag other than packaging them together with the other components of the Adflo. The final minor assembly is performed by the customer (e.g., the customer in the U.S. attaches the rubber breath tube to the helmet and the blower unit).
CBP Says Non-Swedish Components & Simple Packaging Do Not Change Origin
CBP states that all of the major components are made in Sweden. Of the non-Swedish-origin components, CBP finds that the German filter is substantially transformed when it is installed in Sweden into the Adflo respiration system. It also finds that the battery charger loses its separate identity when it gets included with the Adflo respiration system, and since it is a minor component, it too becomes a part of the Adflo respiration system.
In addition, CBP states that it will not usually consider a simple packaging operation to result in a substantial transformation of the product. For these reasons, CBP finds that the imported country of origin of Adflo respiration system for purposes of U.S. government procurement is Sweden.
Regarding the cloth carrying bag, CBP states that its country of origin is governed by the rules of origin for textiles set forth in 19 CFR 102.21, and CBP did not have enough information to make a determination on this issue.
Any Party-at-Interest May Request Judicial Review by Nov 12
CBP states that any party-at-interest, as defined in 19 CFR 177.22(d), may seek judicial review of this final determination by November 12, 2010. In addition, under 19 CFR 177.31, any party-at-interest other than the party which requested this final determination may request that CBP reexamine the matter anew and issue a new final determination.
1The 3M Adflo respiration system is a powered air purifying respirator used for respiratory protection in a welding environment. The system’s main components consist of a helmet and a powered blower unit. The powered blower unit delivers purified air into the helmet for protection of the user against contaminants encountered by the user in a welding environment. The helmet provides the primary protection for the user’s head and eyes via the inclusion of an auto darkening lens which is sold separately.
CBP contact -- Robert Dinerstein (202) 325-0132
(FR Pub 10/13/10, HQ H112725)