(a) Each manufacturer, except as specified in §583.5 (f) and (g), shall determine the percentage U.S./Canadian Parts Content for each carline on a model year basis. This determination shall be made before the beginning of each model year. Items of equipment produced at the final assembly point (but not as part of final assembly) are treated in the same manner as if they were supplied by an allied supplier. All value otherwise added at the final assembly point and beyond, including all final assembly costs, is excluded from the calculation of U.S./Canadian parts content. The country of origin of nuts, bolts, clips, screws, pins, braces, gasoline, oil, blackout, phosphate rinse, windshield washer fluid, fasteners, tire assembly fluid, rivets, adhesives, grommets, and wheel weights, used in final assembly of the vehicle, is considered to be the country where final assembly of the vehicle takes place.

(b) Determining the value of items of equipment.

(1) For items of equipment received at the final assembly point, the value is the price paid by the manufacturer for the equipment as delivered to the final assembly point.

(2) For items of equipment produced at the final assembly point (but not as part of final assembly), the value is the fair market price that a manufacturer of similar size and location would pay a supplier for such equipment.

(3) For items of equipment received at the factory or plant of an allied supplier, the value is the price paid by the allied supplier for the equipment as delivered to its factory or plant.

(c) Determining the U.S./Canadian percentage of the value of items of equipment.

(1) Equipment supplied by an outside supplier to a manufacturer or allied supplier is considered:

(i) 100 percent U.S./Canadian, if 70 percent or more of its value is added in the United States and/or Canada; and

(ii) To otherwise have the actual percent of its value added in the United States and/or Canada, rounded to the nearest five percent.

(2) The extent to which an item of equipment supplied by an allied supplier is considered U.S./Canadian is determined by dividing the value added in the United States and/or Canada by the total value of the equipment. The resulting number is multiplied by 100 to determine the percentage U.S./Canadian content of the equipment.

(3) In determining the value added in the United States and/or Canada of equipment supplied by an allied supplier, any equipment that is delivered to the allied supplier by an outside supplier and is incorporated into the allied supplier's equipment, is considered:

(i) 100 percent U.S./Canadian, if at least 70 percent of its value is added in the United States and/or Canada; and

(ii) To otherwise have the actual percent of its value added in the United States and/or Canada, rounded to the nearest five percent.

(4)

(i) Value added in the United States and/or Canada by an allied supplier or outside supplier includes—

(A) The value added in the U.S. and/or Canada for materials used by the supplier, determined according to (4)(ii) for outside suppliers and (4)(iii) for allied suppliers, plus,

(B) For passenger motor vehicle equipment assembled or produced in the U.S. or Canada, the value of the difference between the price paid by the manufacturer or allied supplier for the equipment, as delivered to its factory or plant, and the total value of the materials in the equipment.

(ii) Outside suppliers of passenger motor vehicle equipment will determine the value added in the U.S. and/or Canada for materials in the equipment as specified in paragraphs (A) and (B).

(A)

(1) For any material used by the supplier which was produced or assembled in the U.S. or Canada, the supplier will subtract from the total value of the material any value that was not added in the U.S. and/or Canada. The determination of the value that was not added in the U.S. and/or Canada shall be a good faith estimate based on information that is available to the supplier, e.g., information in its records, information it can obtain from its suppliers, the supplier's knowledge of manufacturing processes, etc.

(2) The supplier shall consider the amount of value added and the location in which that value was added—

(i) At each earlier stage, counting from the time of receipt of a material by the supplier, back to and including the two closest stages each of which represented a substantial transformation into a new and different product with a different name, character and use.

(ii) The value of materials used to produce a product in the earliest of these two substantial transformation stages shall be treated as value added in the country in which that stage occurred.

(B) For any material used by the supplier which was imported into the United States or Canada from a third country, the value added in the United States and/or Canada is presumed to be zero. However, if documentation is available to the supplier which identifies value added in the United States and/or Canada for that material (determined according to the principles set forth in (A), such value added in the United States and/or Canada is counted.

(iii) Allied suppliers of passenger motor vehicle equipment shall determine the value that is added in the U.S. and/or Canada for materials in the equipment in accordance with (c)(3).

(iv) For the minor items listed in the §583.4 definition of “passenger motor vehicle equipment” as being excluded from that term, outside and allied suppliers may, to the extent that they incorporate such items into their equipment, treat the cost of the minor items as value added in the country of assembly.

(v) For passenger motor vehicle equipment which is imported into the territorial boundaries of the United States or Canada from a third country, the value added in the United States and/or Canada is presumed to be zero. However, if documentation is available to the supplier which identifies value added in the United States and/or Canada for that equipment (determined according to the principles set forth in the rest of (c)(4)), such value added in the United States and/or Canada is counted.

(vi) The payment of duty does not result in value added in the United States and/or Canada.

(5) Except as provided in paragraph (c)(6) of this section, if a manufacturer or allied supplier does not receive information from one or more of its suppliers concerning the U.S./Canadian content of particular equipment, the U.S./Canadian content of that equipment is considered zero. This provision does not affect the obligation of manufacturers and allied suppliers to request this information from their suppliers or the obligation of the suppliers to provide the information.

(6) If a manufacturer or allied supplier requests information in a timely manner from one or more of its outside suppliers concerning the U.S./Canadian content of particular equipment, but does not receive that information despite a good faith effort to obtain it, the manufacturer or allied supplier may make its own good faith value added determinations, subject to the following provisions:

(i) The manufacturer or allied supplier shall make the same value added determinations as would be made by the outside supplier;

(ii) The manufacturer or allied supplier shall consider the amount of value added and the location in which the value was added for all of the stages that the outside supplier would be required to consider;

(iii) The manufacturer or allied supplier may determine that particular value is added in the United States and/or Canada only if it has a good faith basis to make that determination;

(iv) A manufacturer and its allied suppliers may, on a combined basis, make value added determinations for no more than 10 percent, by value, of a carline's total parts content from outside suppliers;

(v) Value added determinations made by a manufacturer or allied supplier under this paragraph shall have the same effect as if they were made by the outside supplier;

(vi) This provision does not affect the obligation of outside suppliers to provide the requested information.

(d) Determination of the U.S./Canadian percentage of the total value of a carline's passenger motor vehicle equipment. The percentage of the value of a carline's passenger motor vehicle equipment that is U.S./Canadian is determined by—

(1) Adding the total value of all of the equipment (regardless of country of origin) expected to be installed in that carline during the next model year;

(2) Dividing the value of the U.S./Canadian content of such equipment by the amount calculated in paragraph (d)(1) of this section, and

(3) Multiplying the resulting number by 100.

(e) Alternative calculation procedures.

(1) A manufacturer may submit a petition to use calculation procedures based on representative or statistical sampling, as an alternative to the calculation procedures specified in this section to determine U.S./Canadian parts content and major sources of foreign parts content.

(2) Each petition must—

(i) Be submitted at least 120 days before the manufacturer would use the alternative procedure;

(ii) Be written in the English language;

(iii) Be submitted in three copies to: Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590;

(iv) State the full name and address of the manufacturer;

(v) Set forth in full the data, views and arguments of the manufacturer that would support granting the petition, including—

(A) the alternative procedure, and

(B) analysis demonstrating that the alternative procedure will produce substantially equivalent results to the procedure set forth in this section;

(vi) Specify and segregate any part of the information and data submitted in the petition that is requested to be withheld from public disclosure in accordance with part 512 of this chapter (the basic alternative procedure and basic supporting analysis must be provided as public information, but confidential business information may also be used in support of the petition).

(3) The NHTSA publishes in the Federal Register, affording opportunity for comment, a notice of each petition containing the information required by this part. A copy of the petition is placed in the public docket. However, if NHTSA finds that a petition does not contain the information required by this part, it so informs the petitioner, pointing out the areas of insufficiency and stating that the petition will not receive further consideration until the required information is submitted.

(4) If the Administrator determines that the petition does not contain adequate justification, he or she denies it and notifies the petitioner in writing, explaining the reasons for the denial. A copy of the letter is placed in the public docket.

(5) If the Administrator determines that the petition contains adequate justification, he or she grants it, and notifies the petitioner in writing. A copy of the letter is placed in the public docket.

(6) The Administrator may attach such conditions as he or she deems appropriate to a grant of a petition, which the manufacturer must follow in order to use the alternative procedure.

[60 FR 47894, Sept. 15, 1995; as amended at 61 FR 46390, Sept. 3, 1996; 62 FR 33761, June 23, 1997; 64 FR 40780, July 28, 1999]