HQ 0730994 - Country of origin marking requirements for lamp sockets - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 730994

June 28, 1988

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 730994 lw

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Stanley Miller
President
Mercury Electric Products
Manufacturing Corp.
P.O. Box G
New Hyde Park, New York 11040

RE: Country of origin marking requirements for lamp sockets

Dear Mr. Miller:

This is in response to your letter of February 26, 1988, which enclosed a copy of your request for a ruling dated December 15, 1987, concerning the proper country of origin marking for lamp sockets.

FACTS:

The lamp socket consists of three pieces; the cap, the shell, and the interior (an electrical switch/socket). All the components of these pieces are manufactured in the U.S. In your phone conversation of June 9, 1988, with a member of my staff, you indicated that the interior piece is made up of 15 different components. The cap and shell are assembled in the U.S. You would like to assemble some of the interior pieces in Jamaica, Mexico, or Haiti. You market the lamp sockets either in an assembled form, or as three separate pieces. The completed version would be assembled in the U.S. The marking on the shell reads in part "MERCURY," "MADE IN U.S.A." The interior piece is inscribed with the company name. The cap has no markings. If necessary, you propose to mark the interior piece with the country of origin by die stamping a very small space on a black fiber disc located on the inside of this piece.

ISSUE:

What is the proper country of origin marking for a lamp socket sold in an incomplete form as three separate pieces, when all the components of these pieces are manufactured in the U.S., the cap and shell are assembled in the U.S., and the interior piece is assembled abroad?

What is the proper country of origin marking for a lamp socket sold in its assembled form when all the components of three sections are manufactured in the U.S., the cap and shell are assembled in the U.S., the interior piece is assembled abroad, and the final product is assembled in the U.S.?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

As to the first issue, section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 as amended (19 U.S.C.1304), requires that every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser the English name of the country of origin of the article.

The term "foreign origin" is defined in section 134.1(c), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(c)), as a "country of origin other than the United States..." Section 134.1(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), defines the "country of origin" to mean the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the U.S. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the "country of origin."

By definition, only merchandise which is of "foreign origin" (i.e., of a country of origin other than the U.S.) is subject to the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304. As provided in section 134.32(m), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.32(m)), U.S. products exported and returned are specifically excepted from country of origin marking requirements. Since further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the country of origin, if a U.S. product is sent abroad for processing, it remains a product of the U.S. (and not subject to the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 upon its return) unless prior to its return it is substantially transformed into an article of foreign origin. See section 134.35, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.35).

While the components of the interior piece are manufactured in the U.S., the assembly abroad transforms the various components into the interior piece of a lamp socket. Thus, the assembled interior piece becomes a product of the country where assembled and it must be marked with the name of that country. Because the other two pieces, the shell and the cap, will not be assembled or transformed, they remain products of the U.S., and are not subject to marking requirements.

In compliance with 19 U.S.C. 1304, the interior piece must be marked conspicuously, legibly, and indelibly, so as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser the article's country of origin.

Concerning the second issue, once it has been determined that a foreign country is the country of origin of the interior piece, the question becomes whether assembly of the three pieces into a completed lamp socket in the U.S. effects a substantial transformation of the interior piece so that the assembled item
is excepted from marking requirements. According to 19 CFR 134.35, when processing of an imported article in the U.S. results in such article having a different name, character, or use, the manufacturer will be considered the ultimate purchaser and the article will be excepted from marking. See Uniroyal, Inc. v. United States, 3 CIT 220, 542 F. Supp. 1026 (1982), aff'd, 702 F.2d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 1983). We believe that the addition of the shell and the cap does not produce an article with a new name, character, or use. The essential character of the final product is imparted by the interior piece, not by the domestic assembly. Because the interior piece has not been converted into a different article by combining it with the other pieces, the article must be marked with the foreign country of origin.

Further, we believe that the marking on the the shell of the completed lamp socket, "MADE IN THE U.S.A.," will mislead the ultimate purchaser as to the country of origin, and therefore it does not comply with 19 U.S.C. 1304 which requires that the English name of the country of origin be marked conspicuously, legibly, indelibly, and permanently on the article or its container.

HOLDING:

Based on the above considerations, and after examination of the samples submitted, we are of the opinion that when the three pieces to the socket are sold unassembled, the country of origin of the interior piece will be the country where it is assembled. Further, it is our opinion that while marking the country of origin by die stamping on the black fiber disc of the interior may make it visible, this does not comply with the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, that the country of origin be marked conspicuously. If it is not feasible to mark the interior piece itself in a more conspicuous manner, 19 CFR 134.44(b) suggests paper sticker labels as an alternative method of marking, and 19 CFR 134.44(c) suggests marking by hang tags. If either of these methods are used, the marking must be conspicuous, legible, and sufficiently permanent so that it will remain on the article, or its container, until it reaches the ultimate purchaser unless deliberately removed. The shell and the cap remain products of the U.S., and are not subject to marking requirements.

With respect to the second issue, because the interior piece is not substantially transformed by assembly with the cap and shell in the U.S., the country of origin of the assembled socket will be the country where the interior piece was assembled. When the lamp socket is sold in its assembled form, as stated in the previous paragraph, marking the country of origin by die stamping on the black fiber disc does not comply with the requirement of 19 U.S.C. 1304 that the marking be conspicuous. Further, according to 19 U.S.C. 1304 the shell may not be marked "Made in the U.S.A." If reference to the U.S. is
made other than that the product is made in the U.S., in compliance with 19 CFR 134.46, the country of origin must be marked in close proximity to this reference in letters of comparable size.

Whether the lamp sockets are sold in an assembled form or as three separate pieces, because they are made of entirely American-made materials, in accordance with section 10.22, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.22), the United States origin of the material may be disclosed by using a legend such as "Assembled in Jamaica from material of U.S. origin," or a similar phrase.

As you indicated in a phone conversation with a member of my staff on June 17, 1988, your company sells the lamp sockets to distributors. If the lamp sockets will be repacked, or if the district director having custody of the articles has reason to believe they will be repacked after their release from Customs custody, according to 19 CFR 134.26 you must notify your distributors, in writing, at the time of the transfer of the articles to them, that any repacking of the lamp sockets must conform to country of origin marking requirements. Further, 19 CFR 134.26(a) requires that you sign a statement certifying that you will notify the distributors.

Sincerely,

Marvin M. Amernick

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