[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 19, Volume 2]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 19CFR177.22]

[Page 348-349]
 
                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
 
  CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
 
PART 177--ADMINISTRATIVE RULINGS--Table of Contents
 
   Subpart B--Government Procurement; Country-of-Origin Determinations
 
Sec. 177.22  Definitions.

    (a) Country of origin. For the purpose of this subpart, an article 
is a product of a country or instrumentality only if (1) it is wholly 
the growth, product, or manufacture of that country or instrumentality, 
or (2) in the case of an article which consists in whole or in part of 
materials from another country or instrumentality, it has been 
substantially transformed into a new and different article of commerce 
with a name, character, or use distinct from that of the article or 
articles from which it was so transformed. The term ``instrumentality'' 
shall not be construed to include any agency or division of the 
government of a country, but may be construed to include such 
arrangements as the European Economic Community.
    (b) Advisory ruling. An advisory ruling is a non-binding, non-
reviewable written statement issued by the Director, Commercial Rulings 
Division, Headquarters, U.S. Customs Service, which does no more than 
call attention to a well established interpretation or principal of law 
relating to the country of origin, without applying it to a particular 
set of facts. Customs will issue

[[Page 349]]

an advisory ruling in response to a request for a final determination 
if:
    (1) The request suggests that general information, rather than a 
final determination, is actually being sought,
    (2) The request is incomplete or otherwise fails to meet the 
requirements set forth in Sec. 177.25(a), or
    (3) The ruling requested cannot be issued for any other reason, and 
Customs believes that the general information supplied by an advisory 
ruling may be of some benefit to the party making the request. An 
advisory ruling is not a ruling issued prior to importation under 28 
U.S.C. 1581(h).
    (c) Final determination. A final determination is a binding 
judicially reviewable statement issued by the Assistant Commissioner, 
Office of Regulations and Rulings, Headquarters, U.S. Customs Service, 
in response to a written request submitted under the provisions of this 
subpart that interprets and applies the provisions of law and regulation 
relating to the country of origin to a specific set of facts. A final 
determination may be issued to a party-at-interest prior to actual entry 
of the merchandise.
    (d) Party-at-interest. For purposes of this subpart the term party-
at-interest means:
    (1) A foreign manufacturer, producer, or exporter, or a United 
States importer of merchandise which is the subject of a final 
determination under this subpart,
    (2) A manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler in the United States of 
a like product,
    (3) United States members of a labor organization or other 
association of workers whose members are employed in the manufacture, 
production, or wholesale in the United States of a like product, and
    (4) A trade or business association a majority of whose members 
manufacture, produce, or wholesale a like product in the United States.

[T.D. 83-13, 48 FR 1189, Jan. 11, 1983, as amended by T.D. 91-77, 56 FR 
46115, Sept. 10, 1991]