CBP Determines New Origin for Brake Hoses

Sep. 22, 2025
By: Austin J. Eighan

In the September 17 Customs Bulletin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced its revocation of two rulings, NY N302378 (Feb. 15, 2019) and NY N331974 (May 3, 2023), to clarify that automotive brake hoses are not substantially transformed in the countries where they are cut to length and fittings are attached.

To determine the country of origin for marking purposes and applying duties levied pursuant to trade remedy actions (e.g., Section 301, Section 232, or tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)), CBP applies the “substantial transformation” analysis. As noted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the seminal origin case Anheuser Busch Brewing Ass’n v. United States, 207 U.S. 556, 562 (1908), a substantial transformation refers to a manufacturing, production, or assembly process that leads a product or component to lose its identity, causing a new or different article to emerge “having a distinctive name, character, or use.”

In NY N302378, CBP found that Teflon and nylon steel-braided hoses produced in Spain were substantially transformed in and products of China, where they were cut to length and assembled with steel fittings and/or clamps. In NY N331974, CBP similarly held that a motorcycle front brake hose was substantially transformed in Thailand, where a bulk roll Japanese-origin hose was cut to length and crimped before assembly with fittings from China, Germany, and the United States.

However, in HQ H325607, CBP determined that cutting the brake hoses to length and attaching fittings did not substantially transform the hoses to the extent the processes imparted a new country of origin. CBP reconsidered its analyses in rulings on similar merchandise (e.g., NY N336508 (Dec. 5, 2023) and NY N335595 (Oct. 4, 2023)) and noted that the “steel wire braided reinforcement and extruded plastic cover imparted the fundamental character of the merchandise as brake hoses.” CBP reasoned that these components underwent more extensive manufacturing before importation into the country in which the hoses were cut to length and fittings were attached, so mere cutting and assembly with fittings did not “change the fundamental character of the final merchandise under the name, character, and use test.” As a result, the brake hoses at issue in NY N303378 and NY N331974 are no longer considered goods of China and Thailand, respectively.

Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1625(c)(2), this announcement puts the trade community on notice that CBP is consequently revoking any treatment previously accorded to substantially identical transactions. An importer's failure to advise CBP of similar treatment could “raise issues of reasonable care.”

If your company would to review the origin of your imports, guidance on your responsibility of exercising reasonable care, or support to request a binding ruling from CBP, please reach out to one of our attorneys at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn.