CBP Procurement Ruling on Exercise Bikes
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a final determination (HQ H095239) that the U.S. is the country of origin for certain upright and recumbent exercise bikes for purposes of U.S. government procurement.
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The final determination was issued at the request of Brunswick Corporation.
(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.)
Exercise Bikes are Assembled in U.S., from U.S. and Foreign Components
The final determination concerns both upright and recumbent exercise bikes produced in the U.S. from U.S. and foreign components. The majority of the components which comprise the bikes and the various subassemblies are stated to be of U.S. origin, with a lesser number sourced from Mexico, China, Taiwan, Germany, Indonesia, and Korea. All of the subassemblies are produced in the U.S. with the exception of the standard console assembly, which is produced in Indonesia.
Final assembly, which takes place in the U.S., is the most-complex step in the manufacturing process, requiring the incorporation of all of the other subassemblies in a precise order to ensure the proper operation of the finished bike. The assembly of the upright exercise bike is comprised of approximately 352 discrete steps and over 175 U.S. and foreign components. The assembly of the recumbent exercise bike is comprised of approximately 468 discrete steps and over 270 U.S. and foreign components. The exercise bikes are also tested and packaged in the U.S.
CBP Finds Substantial Transformation Occurs in U.S.
CBP finds that under the described assembly process, the foreign components lose their individual identities and become an integral part of the articles, the upright and recumbent exercise bikes, possessing a new name, character and use. In addition, the assembly process that occurs in the U.S. is complex and meaningful and requires the assembly of a large number of components into subassemblies to be assembled into the final products. Further, CBP notes that a substantial number of components are of U.S. origin.
Therefore, CBP finds that the imported components that are used to manufacture the upright and recumbent exercise bikes are substantially transformed as a result of the assembly operations performed in the U.S. and that the country of origin of the bikes for government procurement purposes is the U.S.
Any Party-at-Interest May Request Judicial Review by July 9, 2010
CBP states that any party-at-interest, as defined in 19 CFR 177.22(d), may seek judicial review of this final determination by July 9, 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.
CBP contact -- Elif Eroglu (202) 325-0277
(FR Pub 06/09/10)