HQ 0733795 - Country of origin marking of garment with references and symbols thereon to places other than the country of origin. shirt; trousers; IA 855266; 19 U.S.C. 1304; 19 CFR 134.41; 19 CFR 134.46; 712013; 723604; 729096; 732412; 733259 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 733795

February 15, 1991

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 733795 EAB

CATEGORY: MARKING

Bruce D. Roberts
Miami International Forwarders
1573 N.W. 82 Avenue
Miami, Florida 33152-3730

RE: Country of origin marking of garment with references and symbols thereon to places other than the country of origin. shirt; trousers; IA 855266; 19 U.S.C. 1304; 19 CFR 134.41; 19 CFR 134.46; 712013; 723604; 729096; 732412; 733259

Dear Mr. Roberts:

This is in reply to your request for a binding ruling, on behalf of Spencer Industries, Inc., concerning the country of origin marking of tops and pants on which appear prints showing the American flag or the Statue of Liberty.

FACTS:

No sample has been submitted; however, attached to your submission is literature showing the proposed use of the "USA Flag" and "Statue of Liberty" themes, apparently as an integral part of the design concept of the attire. You have stated that the tops will be marked with the country of origin by use of a sewn-in textile label permanently affixed in the nape of the neck. The pants will have a sewn fabric label on the waistband indicating their country of origin.

You believe that the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are not applicable in this case because the design themes will not be misleading to the ultimate purchaser, since neither theme will indicate the country of origin of the article of which it is a part, and, if the garments are marked with fabric labels as indicated, the country of origin will be evident to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S.

For the purposes of this ruling, we are assuming that the "USA Flag" and "Statue of Liberty" appear as integral parts of the design of the garment, and that there are no references to places other than the country of origin on any label/s or hangtag/s, or containers.

ISSUE:

Whether a wearing apparel top conspicuously labelled in the neck, and pants conspicuously labelled in the waistband, and each garment having as an integral part of its design the U.S. flag and/or the Statue of Liberty, must be otherwise marked to indicate the country of origin of the article.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that articles of foreign origin imported into the U.S. must be legibly, conspicuously and permanently marked to indicate the country of origin to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. As provided in 19 CFR 134.41, the marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain.

Customs has recognized that the presence of a geographic location other than the country in which the article was produced on an imported article or its container may mislead the ultimate purchaser as to the country of origin. Thus, in cases where the name of a location in the U.S. or the name of any foreign country or locality other than the country or locality in which the article was manufactured or produced appears on an imported article or its container, 19 CFR 134.46 provides that there shall appear, legibly and permanently, in close proximity to such words, the name of the country of origin preceded by "Made in," "Product of," or other words of similar meaning. Although 19 CFR 134.46 does not specifically address the situation where symbols associated with a country other than the country of origin appear on the imported articles, Customs has ruled that the presence of such symbols may be taken into account in determining whether the country of origin is conspicuous, HQ 729096 (January 1, 1986).

Customs has often distinguished those special cases in which the circumstances were such that reference to a place other than the country of origin on an imported article would not confuse the ultimate purchaser as to the country of origin. For example, in HQ 723604 (November 3, 1983) and HQ 712013 (January 16, 1980), Customs held that the use of the abbreviated "USA" displayed on imported women's wearing apparel did not trigger the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46, because such marking was used as a symbol or decoration and would not reasonably be construed as indicating the country of origin of the article on which it appeared. In HQ 732412 (August 29, 1989), Customs found that the placement of the word "Kansas" on different parts of imported jeans was a part of the design of the garment, would not in any way connote that Kansas was the place of manufacture, and, therefore, would not mislead or deceive the ultimate purchaser. More recently, in HQ 733259 (August 3, 1990), Customs found that four patches respectively indicating "St. Moritz", "Tahiti", "Rome" and "Alaska" sewn onto the front of a child's pullover knit top were an integral part of the design of the garment and not indicators of the origin of the garment; since the top was conspicuously marked in the center of the neck by means of a sewn-in fabric label that satisfied the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 were not triggered.

In this case, we find that the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 would be satisfied if each garment is labelled in fact as the broker has averred. Consistent with and based upon the previous rulings abstracted herein, we find that when the U.S. flag and Statue of Liberty are used as integral parts of the design of the tops and pants they are not indicators of the country of origin of either garment; therefore, the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are not applicable.

HOLDING:

Where the U.S. flag and/or the Statue of Liberty are used as an integral part of the design of a garment, they are not indicators of the country of origin of the garment.

In the particular case of a top (shirt or blouse), so long as the country of origin is indicated by a fabric label that is sewn into the neck of the garment and otherwise satisfies the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are not applicable, and no other country of origin marking of the garment is required.

In the particular case of trousers, so long as the country of origin is indicated by a fabric label that is sewn into the waistband of the garment and otherwise satisfies the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are not applicable, and no other country of origin marking of the garment is required.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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