Guide
How do you request a CBP binding ruling on country of origin?
A CBP binding ruling is a written decision from US Customs and Border Protection that applies customs law to one described set of facts, such as where a part is made and what happens to it in each country. An origin ruling tells you, before the goods ship, which country CBP will treat as the country of origin, and every CBP office must follow it for the transaction it describes.
By Saola Manufacturing engineering team · Published · Updated
This guide covers who may file, what the request must contain, how to write the manufacturing-flow description, and what past rulings on castings machined in a second country held. It explains public regulations and published rulings; it is not legal advice, and the ruling itself is always CBP’s decision.
On this page
Who can request a country-of-origin ruling from CBP?
Any person with a direct and demonstrable interest in the question can request a ruling, and so can that person’s authorized agent or attorney. In practice that means the US importer, the exporter or the foreign manufacturer, usually through a customs broker or trade lawyer.
The rule sits in 19 CFR 177.1(c). Published rulings show foreign manufacturers using it: a recent origin ruling on an aluminum knuckle assembly was requested by a customs service firm on behalf of the Korean producer, and a ruling on a butterfly valve was requested by a US broker on behalf of the Korean valve maker. So a supplier in Vietnam can be the requester, but the importer of record is the party that carries the duty, so the two should agree on the facts before anything is filed.
Two limits apply to everyone. A ruling covers prospective transactions only: per 19 CFR 177.1(d), goods that have already arrived or been entered are handled through the normal entry, protest and review process instead. And CBP does not issue binding rulings orally; advice from an officer on the phone does not bind the agency.
What must a country-of-origin ruling request include?
A complete statement of the facts: the parties, the part, every manufacturing step and where it happens, how the part will be marked, and the ruling you think is correct with your reasons. The table below maps each item to the regulation or CBP requirement that asks for it.
| Item | What to provide | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Parties | Requester’s name, address, email and phone; all other interested parties and the manufacturer ID code if known | CBP eRuling requirements |
| Port of entry | Expected US port or ports, if known | CBP eRuling requirements |
| Transaction | A prospective import, described in enough detail to apply the law | 19 CFR 177.2(b)(1)-(2) |
| The article | Photographs or drawings, and a sample whenever possible | 19 CFR 177.2(b)(3) |
| Documents | Copies of any invoice, contract or agreement the question depends on | 19 CFR 177.2(b)(4) |
| Marking | Where the origin mark sits on the part and on the box, with images of every label and carton | CBP eRuling requirements |
| Use after import | Intended US end use or resale channel | CBP eRuling requirements |
| Prior consideration | Whether the same issue is, or has been, before any CBP office or a court | 19 CFR 177.2(b)(5) |
| Your position | The origin you believe is correct and the legal basis for it | 19 CFR 177.2(b)(6) |
| Confidential data | Each confidential item marked, with the reason it should not be disclosed | 19 CFR 177.2(b)(7) |
Most requests today go through the eRulings template to CBP’s National Commodity Specialist Division in New York. The eRuling requirements page caps a single request at five items of the same class or kind, and it lists the file formats it accepts; compressed archives are refused, so attach drawings and photos as individual PDF or image files.
How should the manufacturing flow be described for a cast-and-machined part?
Describe the part step by step in the order it is made, naming the country, the operation, the features it creates and the condition of the part before and after each step. CBP decides origin by asking whether the part emerged from a process with a new name, character or use, so the description has to show exactly when the casting becomes the finished part.
That test is the substantial transformation standard, which CBP applies through the definition of country of origin in 19 CFR 134.1(b). The rulings in the next section turn on details such as which features were cut, whether the casting was recognizable as the finished part before machining, and where the metal was melted. A vague line like “machined in Vietnam” gives the specialist nothing to weigh. A usable description for a die-cast housing that is machined afterward covers, for each step:
- Raw material. Alloy designation, form (ingot, bar, scrap) and country of origin of the metal. If you are unsure which alloy name to use, the ADC12 vs A380 guide maps the common equivalents.
- Casting. Country, process (for example high-pressure die casting), whether the die is dedicated to this part, and post-cast steps such as trimming, gate removal, heat treatment and X-ray.
- Machining. Country, machine type and every feature produced: datum faces, bores, sealing faces, drilled and tapped holes, with a drawing that highlights them. A CNC milling operation that creates the mounting and sealing geometry says more than the word “finishing”.
- Before and after. Photographs of the raw casting and the finished part side by side, and a statement of whether the raw casting could be used for anything except this part.
- Finishing and assembly. Coating, inserts, press-fit components and their origins.
- Value and cost. The cost of each step and component. Cost is not decisive on its own, but CBP weighs it, and the 1992 flange ruling below deferred part of its decision until the importer supplied before-and-after samples, a description of each process and cost data.
Write each step as a fact that an auditor could verify on the shop floor. A ruling is issued on the assumption that every fact is accurate and complete in every material respect, per 19 CFR 177.9(b)(1), and CBP notes in its rulings that those facts may be verified later.
What have past CROSS rulings said about castings machined in another country?
They go both ways, which is exactly why a ruling is worth requesting: extensive machining that creates the functional features has been held to change origin, while simple assembly of finished foreign subassemblies has not. The rulings below are all public in CBP’s CROSS database.
| Ruling (year) | Facts | Holding |
|---|---|---|
| HQ 734673 (1992) | Rough ductile iron castings ground, drilled, assembled and lathe-machined in the US into adapter flanges | Substantial transformation for one flange series; no decision on another series until before-and-after samples, process detail and cost data were supplied |
| HQ H301619 (2018) | Chinese subassemblies assembled into electric motors in Mexico | Origin for marking is Mexico under the Part 102 rules; origin for Section 301 duties is China, because simple assembly is not a substantial transformation |
| NY N349668 (2025) | Valve body, disc and clamp ring cast in China, then bored, faced, milled, drilled and tapped in South Korea and assembled there | South Korea; the casting became recognizable as a valve body only after the Korean machining |
| NY N364409 (2026) | Chinese aluminum ingot and additives melted and high-pressure cast in South Korea, then machined and fitted with a Korean socket | South Korea; melting and casting in a dedicated die was itself the substantial transformation |
Two lessons carry over to a part moving from China to Vietnam. First, where the casting is poured matters as much as where it is machined: in the knuckle ruling the decisive step was casting, not machining. A part that is both cast and machined in the same country gives CBP the simplest set of facts to rule on. Second, a casting machined in a second country is not automatically a product of that country; the valve ruling went the importer’s way because the machining created the features that made the part a valve body. Search CROSS for your own part family before you write your position statement, and cite the closest rulings in it.
How long does a ruling take, and how long does it stay valid?
CBP says its New York division generally issues eRulings in 30 calendar days from receipt, per the CBP eRuling requirements page. Once it has been in effect for 60 days, a ruling stays in force for its facts until CBP modifies or revokes it through a public notice under 19 USC 1625(c).
Requests that need a laboratory report, another agency or a Headquarters referral take longer; per CBP, rulings referred to Headquarters are mailed no later than 90 days after receipt.
On validity, a ruling applies to entries that have not yet been finally settled, per 19 CFR 177.9(a). CBP cannot quietly withdraw it: under 19 USC 1625(c), a ruling that has been in effect for 60 days or more can only be modified or revoked after publication in the Customs Bulletin and a comment period, and the change takes effect 60 days after the final notice. The ruling can still stop protecting you in a quieter way: if the facts change. A new alloy source, a casting moved to another country or a machining step dropped means the ruling no longer describes your goods, and the rulings themselves tell the holder to file a new request.
Is a certificate of origin the same as CBP’s origin decision?
No. A certificate of origin issued by an exporting-country authority is a document the supplier provides, while CBP decides US origin under US rules, and only a binding ruling commits CBP to an answer in advance.
Certificates issued in the exporting country are typically built for trade agreements that country has signed, and their criteria can differ from the substantial transformation test. They are useful evidence of where work was done, but a Vietnamese certificate does not decide how CBP will treat a part at a US port.
Even within US law, origin can differ by purpose. HQ H301619 is the clearest example: the same motor was Mexican for marking and Chinese for Section 301 duties, because marking of goods from Mexico follows the Part 102 rules while the Section 301 trade remedy follows substantial transformation. When you request a ruling, say which purposes you need answered: marking, Section 301 or other additional duties, or both. The tariffs and origin page summarizes the duty measures that make the distinction matter.
When is a ruling worth requesting before moving a part to Vietnam?
A ruling is worth requesting when the duty difference between two possible origins is large on a high-volume part, or when any step of the process still happens in the country you are moving away from. If the metal is poured and the part machined in one country from start to finish, the origin question is usually much simpler.
The process description a ruling request needs is also what a new supplier needs to quote, so write it once for both; the RFQ package guide lists the rest.
On a Saola order, CNC turning and CNC milling run at our lead CNC plant in Vietnam, while die casting and surface finishing go through partner plants we manage, and the quote names each production site and the country of origin, so the routing can be documented step by step. Whether a given part qualifies as Vietnamese origin is still CBP’s decision, not the supplier’s. To start, send the drawing for a quote and ask for the process routing alongside the price.
Frequently asked
Can I request a ruling for goods that have already shipped?
Not under Part 177. Rulings cover prospective transactions, meaning goods that have not arrived or been entered. For entries already made, the issue goes through the port, a protest or other review procedures.
Will my competitors be able to read the ruling?
Rulings are published and searchable in CROSS. Information you mark as confidential under 19 CFR 177.2(b)(7), with a reason, is handled as confidential, so mark cost data, supplier names and process details you do not want published.
Can the overseas supplier file the request instead of the importer?
Yes, if it has a direct and demonstrable interest, and it usually files through an agent. Published rulings include requests made on behalf of foreign producers. The importer should still review the facts, because the importer declares origin at entry.
Does a ruling still apply after a drawing revision?
It applies to the facts it describes. A cosmetic revision that changes nothing in the origin analysis is unlikely to matter, but a change to where the part is cast, the alloy source or the machining performed can take the goods outside the ruling. When in doubt, request a new one.
Can one request cover several part numbers?
An eRuling request can cover up to five items of the same class or kind. A family of housings made by the same process is a natural fit; unrelated parts belong in separate requests.
Sources
- 19 CFR Part 177, Administrative rulings, eCFR, accessed September 2026
- 19 CFR Part 134, Country of origin marking (134.1 definitions), eCFR, accessed September 2026
- 19 USC 1625, Interpretive rulings and decisions; public information, Office of the Law Revision Counsel, accessed September 2026
- eRuling Requirements, US Customs and Border Protection, accessed September 2026
- Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS), US Customs and Border Protection, accessed September 2026
- HQ 734673, country of origin marking of cast iron flanges and fittings, CBP, December 17, 1992
- HQ H301619, country of origin of electric motors from Mexico; Section 301, CBP, November 6, 2018
- NY N349668, country of origin of a butterfly valve, CBP, June 17, 2025
- NY N364409, country of origin of an automotive knuckle assembly, CBP, September 1, 2026