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HQ 734096


September 3, 1991

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 734096 AT

CATEGORY: MARKING

Ms. Laura M. Denny
Edison Brothers Stores, Inc.
Import Department
501 N. Broadway
P.O. Box 66995
St. Louis, Missouri 63166-6995

RE: Country of origin marking of imported men's suits and suit- type jackets; "Tailored in" or "Tailor-made in" in lieu of "Made in" or "Product of"; 19 U.S.C. 1304: 19 CFR 134.1(b)

Dear Ms. Denny:

This is in response to your letter dated March 15, 1991, requesting a country of origin ruling regarding imported men's suits and suit-type jackets.

FACTS:

You are proposing to mark your imported suits and suit-type jackets with the phrase "Tailored in" or "Tailor-made in" in place of "Made in" or "Product of" to indicate the country of origin of the garment. You also state that according to the definition of "Tailored" and "Tailor-made" as found in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, you believe that the term "Made in" is synonymous with "Tailored in". Further, you claim that the term "tailored" is a standard term used in the garment industry to connote country of origin.

ISSUE:

Whether the phrase "Tailored in" or "Tailor-made in" to designate the country of origin of imported suits and suit-type jackets satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304.

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 (emphasis added). 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 at 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."

Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Country of origin is defined in 19 CFR 134.1(b) as the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any articles of foreign origin entering the U.S. The question presented in this case is whether the phrase "Tailored in" or "Tailor-made in" indicates that the article was made in the named country, as required by 19 U.S.C. 1304.

In C.S.D. 89-37 (December 1, 1988), Customs ruled that the phrase "Fabric made in U.S.A. Tailored in Honduras" properly indicated that the country of origin of men's shirts was Honduras. In so determining, Customs stated that shirt manufacturers have used the phrase "Tailored in" to mean "Made in" for men's shirts and it has that connotation within the industry. Evidence was presented in support of this conclusion. In HQ 734031 (May 20, 1991), Customs ruled that the term "Tailored in" to designate the country of origin of imported men's shirts satisfied the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304. The ruling specifically stated that it applied only to the marking of imported men's shirts.

In this case, instead of marking imported men's shirts, you are proposing to mark imported suits and suit-type jackets with the phrase "Tailored in" or "Tailor-made in" in place of "Made in" or "Product of" to indicate the country of origin of the garment. The proposed marking "Tailored in" would not clearly indicate to the ultimate purchaser the true country of origin of the these types of garments. Although Customs found that the phrase "Tailored in" is synonymous with the phrase "Made in" in the shirt industry, this does not appear to be the case regarding suits. The term "Tailored in" has a different meaning when applied to garments like men's suits and suit-type jackets than with men's shirts. Generally, when applied to suits or suit- type jackets the words "Tailored in" could mean to the ultimate purchaser that some further processing or tailoring has been done to the finished garment. It does not necessarily indicate that the garment was actually manufactured in that country. However, with men's shirts, an ultimate purchaser does not make this same inference (that further processing or tailoring was done to the finished shirt).

Also, as noted above, "Tailored in" is used by the men's shirt industry to connote country of origin. However, according to a Customs National Import Specialist who has been involved with the garment industry for many years, the words "Tailored in" are not standard terms used by the garment industry to connote country of origin of men's suits or suit-type jackets, as you claim.

Unlike the words "Tailored in", the words "Tailor-made in" provide a clearer indication to the ultimate purchaser that the suit or suit-type jacket is manufactured in that country due to the fact that the word "made" is added to the proposed marking. Also, an ultimate purchaser after reading the words "Tailor-made in" would not be confused as to what the country of manufacture of the article is. Generally, one associates that the words "Tailor-made in" mean that the article was manufactured or made in that country. Therefore, use of the words "Tailor-made in" to indicate the country of origin of men's suits or suit-type jackets satisfies the requirements of section 1304.

HOLDING:

The proposed phrase "Tailored in" to designate the country of origin of imported suits and suit-type jackets does not satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Use of the words "Tailored-made in" to designate the country of origin of imported men's suits and suit-type jackets does satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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