HQ 0732955 - Country of origin marking of imported drawer liners - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

United States International Trade Commision Rulings And Harmonized Tariff Schedule

faqs.org Rulings By Number Rulings By Category Tariff Numbers

faqs.org > Rulings and Tariffs Home > Rulings By Number > 1990 HQ Rulings > HQ 0732822 - HQ 0733678 > HQ 0732955

HQ 732955
February 27, 1990

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 732955 KG

CATEGORY: MARKING

Leslie Ford Brown
Colorfit Systems
16041 S.W. Waluga Drive
Lake Oswego, Oregon 97034

RE: Country of origin marking of imported drawer liners

Dear Ms. Brown:

This is in response to your letter of April 24, 1989, requesting a country of origin ruling regarding imported drawer liners. We regret the delay in responding to your inquiry.

FACTS:

Your product is an imported nylon canvas drawer liner for use in basket storage systems. You state that the product must remain fully packaged until it reaches the final consumer. The packaging is a thin plastic bag about 14 inches long and nine inches wide. On the front of the packaging is the name of the importing company and the phrase "Drawer Liners For Free-Standing Basket Storage Systems." The back of the packaging has the name of the importing company, a product description and the installation instructions for the product. On the very bottom of the back of the packaging, in lettering about 1/16 inch in height, are the U.S. address of the importer in the right hand corner and the phrase "Made in China" in the left hand corner. Just above the country of origin marking is a list of the storage systems which this product fits.
ISSUE:

Whether the imported basket liners, marked as described above, satisfy section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. The Court of

International Trade stated in Koru North America v. United States, 701 F.Supp. 229, 12 CIT (CIT 1988), that: "In ascertaining what constitutes the country of origin under the marking statute, a court must look at the sense in which the term is used in the statute, giving reference to the purpose of the particular legislation involved. The purpose of the marking statute is outlined in United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 CCPA 297, 302 C.A.D. 104 (1940), where the court stated that: "Congress intended that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will."

Section 304(a)(3)(D) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D)), excepts from individual marking requirements any article for which the marking of the container will reasonably indicate the origin of the article. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.32(d), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.32(d)), reiterates the exception contained in 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D).

The exception set forth in 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D) applies in cases where the article is imported in a properly marked container and Customs officials at the port of entry are satisfied that the ultimate purchaser will receive it in its unopened marked container. The ultimate purchaser is defined in section 134.1(d), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(d)), as the last person in the U.S. to receive the article in the form in which it was imported.

In this case, the installation instructions and list of storage systems that this product will fit is on the packaging. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the ultimate purchaser will only receive this product in its packaging. However, the packaging itself is not properly marked. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), requires that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. In this instance, the location and small lettering size of the marking both make it difficult to find and read the country of origin marking. In order to satisfy the requirements of 19 CFR 134.41(b), the lettering must be more prominent. Larger size lettering would help to make the marking easier to find and read. If the requirements of 19 CFR 134.41(b) are satisfied, the imported item itself would be excepted from marking pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D) and 19 CFR 134.32(d).

HOLDING:

The country of origin marking on the packaging submitted for examination does not satisfy the requirements of 19 CFR 134.41(b). If the packaging is more prominently marked to satisfy the requirements of 19 CFR 134.41(b), the imported basket liner itself will be excepted from country of origin marking pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D) and 19 CFR 134.32(d).

Sincerely,

Marvin M. Amernick
Chief, Value, Special Programs

Previous Ruling Next Ruling