CBP Rules That Certain Video Surveillance Systems Are of US Origin
Video surveillance and data management systems made by Security Lab are products of the U.S. for government procurement purposes, CBP said in a notice of final determination released April 25.
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Security Lab produces the VMS, a hardware system consisting of a camera array and central computer system designed to conduct and manage video surveillance operations. The VMS comprises foreign-origin components from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Costa Rica, Vietnam and South Korea that are assembled in the U.S. and combined with U.S.-origin software.
In instances in which component production or assembly occurs in multiple countries and no single country’s operations dominate the manufacturing operations, CBP said that it often looks to the location at which final assembly occurs, but that it "considers the totality of the circumstances" and makes determinations "on a case-by-case basis."
CBP ruled that because the final substantial transformation occurred in the U.S., the VMS is not a product of a foreign country. CBP had previously examined the country of origin for an imported satellite telephone that contained Malaysia-origin circuit boards and U.K.-origin software and that underwent final assembly and programming in Singapore. In that ruling, CBP found that although the boards and software were important to the function of the device, Singapore was the proper country of origin because it had been the site of the last substantial transformation.
In another HQ ruling, CBP considered the country of origin of oscilloscopes containing Malaysia-origin circuit boards assembled in Singapore and programmed with U.S.-origin software. CBP again concluded that the final assembly in Singapore completed the oscilloscopes.
For Security Lab's VMS, "the CPU manufactured in Costa Rica, Vietnam or Malaysia is important to the function of the VMS, as is the Chinese-origin motherboard and U.S.-origin firmware and software," CBP said in the attached ruling. "The assembly in the United States completes the VMS," it said.