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HQ 733964


April 2, 1991

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 733964 RSD

CATEGORY: MARKING

Harold Loring, Esq.
Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz & Silverman 12 East 49th Street
New York, New York 10017

RE: Country of origin marking of belts sold with pants; sets

Dear Mr. Loring:

This is in response to your letter dated November 28, 1990, submitted on behalf of Lerner Stores Corporation, requesting a ruling on the country of origin marking requirements for belts imported and sold together with pants. Several sample pairs of pants and the belts were submitted.

FACTS:

Lerner Stores Corporation imports belts and pants which are imported and sold together at the retail level. The belts are made of a vinyl plastic and pants are made of fabric. Although on the samples received, the belts are fitted through the belt loops on the pants, they are not coordinated in any other manner with the pants, and could easily be worn with another garment. It is alleged that the belts cost from 42 cents to 90 cents a piece. No information regarding the cost of pants was provided. The belts and pants are made in different countries.

ISSUE:

Do belts which are made of a different material than the pants with which they are imported and sold and which are not coordinated in any other manner with the pants have to be separately marked to indicate their own country of origin?

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. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304 was 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 thatat 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." United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302 (1940).

Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), mandates that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. must be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. The ultimate purchaser is generally the last person in the United States who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. (Section 134.1 Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1)).

In HQ 729594, August 12, 1986, Customs ruled that belts made of the same fabric and design as the dresses with which they were imported and which were intended to be worn exclusively with the dresses do not have to be separately marked with the country of origin. Customs ruled in HQ 733089, May 30, 1990, that a scarf and tie made from the same fabric and design as a blouse also do not have to be separately marked with the country of origin. We noted in that ruling that the tie and scarf which were imported together from the same country with the blouse were intended to be worn exclusively with the blouse. Accordingly, we stated that the scarf and the tie lose their separate identity when they were combined and sold with the blouse.

Counsel argues that based on these rulings the belts in this case should not have to be separately marked. However, those rulings are not controlling, because the facts of this case differ from the facts involved in the prior rulings. The belts and the pants in this case are made of a different material, and they have a different design. Significantly, the belts are not exclusively designed to be worn solely with the pants. The belts can be removed from the pants and can be worn with other pants. In addition, the belts and pants have different countries of origin. While the belts may be inexpensive, their cost is not negligible.

Counsel also contends that because the belts are classifiable with the trousers for duty purposes, they should not be required to be separately marked. The classification of pants sold with the belts is determined by General Rules Interpretation 3(b) (GRI 3(b)) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, (HTSUS) which governs the classification of mixtures, composite good consisting of different material or components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale. Recently in T.D. 91-7, January 16, 1991, Customs indicated that the tariff treatment of an article under the HTSUS generally has no effect on the country of origin marking requirements under 19 U.S.C. 1304. GRI 3(b) specifies only that sets, mixtures, and composite goods are classified as if they consisted of the material or component that imparts the essential character to the goods but does not specify that sets, mixture, and composite goods are to be marked according this standard. Accordingly, the classification of a set of goods, such as a pair pants and a belt, is not determinative of the country of origin marking requirements of the materials or components which comprise the article. For purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1304, the relevant inquiry regarding the marking of the material or components in such a collection is whether such items have been substantially transformed as result of their inclusion in the set, mixture, or composite good.

In this case, the belts are not substantially transformed when they are attached and sold together with a pair pants because the belt remains a distinct article. Because the belts and pants are made of a different materials, have a separate design, can be worn with other pairs of pants, they do not lose their separate identity. In essence because the belts are separate articles from the pants, they must be marked with their own country of origin.

HOLDING:

The sample vinyl plastic belts, which are imported and sold together with pants made of fabric, and are not designed to be worn exclusively with the pants are separate articles for country of origin marking purposes and must be individually marked with their country of origin.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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