SUMMARY: this document provides notice that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) has issued a final determination concerning the country of origin of satellite telephones. we were asked to consider six scenarios. Based upon the facts presented, CBP has concluded in the final determination that the application board and transceiver board together convey the essential character of the phones and it is at their assembly and programming where the last substantial transformation occurs. Therefore, when the boards are assembled and programmed in Malaysia, the country of origin of the phones for purposes of U.S. government procurement is Malaysia. When the boards are assembled and programmed in Singapore, the country of origin of the phones for purposes of U.S. government procurement is Singapore.
EFFECTIVE DATE: the final determination was issued on July 28, 2011. a copy of the final determination is attached. any party-at-interest, as defined in 19 CFR 177.22(d), may seek judicial review of this final determination on or before September 1, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather K. Pinnock, Valuation and Special Programs Branch: (202) 325-0034.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that on July 28, 2011, pursuant to subpart B of part 177, Customs Regulations (19 CFR part 177, subpart B), CBP issued a final determination concerning the country of origin of satellite telephones which may be offered to the U.S. Government under an undesignated government procurement contract. this final determination, HQ H130306, was issued under procedures set forth at 19 CFR part 177, subpart B, which implements Title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2511-18). in the final determination, CBP concluded that, based upon the facts presented, the application board and transceiver board together convey the essential character of the phones and it is at their assembly and programming where the last substantial transformation occurs. Therefore, when the boards are assembled and programmed in Malaysia, the country of origin of the phones for purposes of U.S. government procurement is Malaysia. When the boards are assembled and programmed in Singapore, the country of origin of the phones for purposes of U.S. government procurement is Singapore.
Section 177.29, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 177.29), provides that a notice of final determination shall be published in the Federal Register within 60 days of the date the final determination is issued. Section 177.30, CBP Regulations (19 CFR 177.30), provides that any party-at-interest, as defined in 19 CFR 177.22(d), may seek judicial review of a final determination within 30 days of publication of such determination in the Federal Register
Dated: July 28, 2011.
Executive Director, Regulations and Rulings, Office of International Trade.
MAR-2 OT:RR:CTF:VS H170315 HKP
CATEGORY: Origin Marking
Kevin P. Connelly, Esq.
Washington, D.C. 20004-1454
RE: U.S. Government Procurement; Country of Origin of Iridium 9555 Satellite Telephones; Substantial Transformation; Marking
This is in response to your letter, dated October 21, 2010, requesting a final determination on behalf of Iridium Satellite, LLC (“Iridium”), pursuant to subpart B of part 177 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Regulations (19 CFR Part 177). under these regulations, which implement Title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (TAA), as amended (19 U.S.C. SEC 2511 et seq.), CBP issues country of origin advisory rulings and final determinations as to whether an article is or would be a product of a designated country or instrumentality for the purposes of granting waivers of certain “Buy American” restrictions in U.S. law or practice for products offered for sale to the U.S. Government.
This final determination concerns the country of origin of the Iridium 9555 satellite telephone. we note that as a U.S. importer, Iridium is a party-at-interest within the meaning of 19 CFR 177.22(d)(1) and is entitled to request this final determination. in reaching our decision we have taken into account additional information submitted to this office on January 30, February 4, may 11, and may 31, 2011.
Iridium imports Iridium 9555 satellite telephones from Singapore. the telephones are composed of the following components: (1) Transceiver Board, (2) Application Board, (3) Conductive Spacer, (4) Receiver, (5) Clik Dome Array (provides feedback on switch closure), (6) Vibrator, (7) Display, (8) Radio frequency (RF) emission shields (can lids), (9) Hands Free (HF) Speaker/Cable, (10) Antenna Bearing Housing 1, (11) Antenna Bearing Housing 2, (12) Keypad, (13) HF Speaker Housing, (14) Rear Housing Assembly, (15) Front Assembly, (16) Bezel, (17) USB Cover, (18) Headset Jack (HSJ) Cover, (19) Screw Caps, (20) RF Cap (external antenna connector cover), (21) Antenna Plunger, (22) Antenna Plunger Spring, (23) Bezel Film, and assorted screws.
The transceiver board (no. 1 above) is the radio transceiver that communicates with the Iridium satellite. it demodulates data from the satellite link and sends it to the application board (no. 2 above). in addition, the transceiver board receives commands and voice and data streams from the application board (described infra) and formats and modulates them into radio streams that communicate with the Iridium gateway network infrastructure using a GSM-like communication protocol. among the components on the transceiver board are two digital base band (DBB) chips, which contain the microcontroller for the board, and two digital signal processor (DSP) cores, made in China, and two radio frequency (RF) backend chips, made in Taiwan. the bill of materials for the transceiver board was submitted for our review. the board is assembled in Malaysia.
The application board is a circuit board that contains all of the user interfaces for the handsets, i.e., the display, user connector, key pad and other buttons, microphone, speaker, and ear piece. the board also contains software for SMS messaging, predictive text, multilingual support, handset configuration, and phone menu items such as contacts. the bill of materials for the application board was submitted for our review. the board is assembled in Malaysia.
The other listed components are manufactured in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. with the exception of the components made in Singapore, all of the components are shipped to Singapore, where they are placed in stock until used to manufacture the satellite telephone.
Handset software programming consists of programming the transceiver board using JTAG, a programming process, and separately downloading software to the application board. the software programs for the application board and for the transceiver board are developed in the United Kingdom. Unless otherwise described, as in scenario six below, handset programming occurs in Malaysia and/or Singapore at the board level after the pertinent chips and circuits have been installed onto the relevant board, prior to assembly of the boards with the other components into phones in Singapore. in scenario six, the integrated circuit (IC) for the transceiver board is programmed before it is incorporated into the board.
Six alternative manufacturing scenarios for the Iridium 9555 satellite telephones have been described to CBP.
(1) the Malaysian-origin transceiver and application boards, both programmed in Malaysia, are shipped to Singapore.
(2) the antenna plunger housing 1 is placed into the antenna plunger spring insertion jig, and both are inserted into the antenna bearing housing 1. the antenna cable is fitted and secured with clips onto bearing housing 2, and the bearing housings are fitted together. the antenna assembly is then inserted into the antenna bearing housing with the antenna cable.
(3) the antenna assembly, antenna cable, and vibrator are inserted into the rear housing and fitted with clips.
(4) the rear speaker is placed onto the rear housing and the speaker cable is positioned. the LCD flex cable that is connected to the display is inserted into the connector on the application board and fastened with clips. the application board, assembled with the LCD and the rear housing, is moved to the next station.
(5) the application board with LCD is removed from the rear housing. the receiver is placed on the back of the LCD display, oriented, and pinned with a guide pin to the application board. the transceiver board is stacked on top of the conductive space gasket, which is stacked on top of the application board. the boards are screwed together.
(6) the various can lids are placed on the assembly. the antenna cable and rear speaker cable are plugged into the connectors on the boards.
(7) the HSJ cover and USB cover are inserted into the front housing. the keypad is placed onto the front housing. the rear housing with the stack of boards is assembled with the bezel onto the front housing. the front and rear housings are screwed together.
(8) the phones are scanned, given serial numbers, and shipped to Malaysia for testing, labeling, and packaging for export.
The application board and transceiver board are programmed and tested in Malaysia and shipped to Singapore. However, the application board is shipped without an audio jack or a power jack. the jacks are soldered onto the board in Singapore. the telephones are then manufactured in Singapore, as in Scenario I.
The application board and the transceiver board undergo programming and functional testing in Singapore, not in Malaysia. the telephones are then manufactured in Singapore, as in Scenario I.
–This is a summary of a Federal Register article originally published on the page number listed below–
Notice of final determination.
Citation: “76 FR 46313″
al Register Page Number: “46313″
