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HQ 734204


October 24, 1991

MAR-2-05 CO:R:V:C 734204 AT

CATEGORY: MARKING

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

RE: Country of origin marking of wooden hangers; 19 CFR 134.11; 19 CFR 134.14; conspicuous; HQ 728106

Dear Ms. Denny:

This is in response to your letter of May 28, 1991, requesting a country of origin ruling regarding imported wooden hangers. A photostatic copy diagram indicating the manner in which these hangers will be marked with the country of origin and a sample wooden hanger were also submitted with your letter.

FACTS:

Your company intends to import wooden hangers into the U.S. to be used to display wearing apparel at retail stores. You claim that the wooden hangers will not be removed from the garment at the time of sale to the ultimate purchaser. You also claim that the wooden hangers will be permanently marked (die- sinking) with the country of origin. It appears from the submitted photostat diagram that the proposed country of origin marking will be placed on the front of the hanger near the righthand corner which is approximately 1/2 inch in width. You also state that a company logo will also be printed on the front of the hanger underneath the chrome metal hook.

ISSUE:

Does the proposed marking of the wooden hangers in the manner described above satisfy the country of origin marking requirements of section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended and 19 CFR Part 134?
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 its 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 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." United States v. Friedlander & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302; C.A.D. 104 (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 134.1(d) Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(d) defines ultimate purchaser as "generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported."

In this case you claim that the hanger will not be removed from the garment at the time of sale to the ultimate purchaser. Therefore, we find that the purchaser of the garment is also the ultimate purchaser of the hanger. Although the proposed marking appears to be conspicuous, legible and permanent in that it is placed on the front of the hanger and is legible In view of this determination, the porposed marking must besaledetermining whether the marking is acceptable, Customs will take into account the presence of words or symbols on an article which may mislead the ultimate purchaser as to the country of origin. Consequently, if the words "United States," or "America," the letters "U.S.A.," any variation of such words or letters, or the name of any city or locality in the U.S., or the name of any foreign country or locality other than the country of origin appear on an imported article, special marking requirements are triggered.

The marking issue raised in this case involves the application of two related provisions of the marking regulations, 19 CFR 134.46 and 19 CFR 134.47. The application of the special marking requirements set forth in these provisions is triggered by the presence of the words "Fort Worth, Texas" printed on the main label.
Both provisions serve the same purpose of preventing ultimate purchasers from being misled or deceived when the name of a country or place other than the country of origin appears on an imported article or its container. The critical difference between the two provisions is that section 134.46 requires that the name of the actual country of origin appear "in close proximity" to the U.S. reference and in lettering of at least comparable size. By contrast, 134.47 requires less, providing that when the name of a place other than the country of origin appears as part of a trademark or trade name or as part of a souvenir marking, the name of the actual country of origin must appear in close proximity to the place "or in some other conspicuous location". In other words, if the question concerns a trade name or trademark, the country of origin marking needs only to meet the general standard of conspicuousness. In either case, the name of the country of origin must be preceded by "Made in," "Product of," or words of similar meaning.

As applied here, it is our opinion that the more stringent requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 must apply. The words "Fort Worth, Texas" which appear on the main label are printed directly below the trademark design, but are not part of the trademark. In HQ 722064 (August 3, 1983), Customs ruled that 19 CFR 134.47 would apply only if the word "Paris" was part of the registered trade name. Otherwise, 19 CFR 134.46 would be the applicable provision. Here, because the words "Fort Worth, Texas" are not part of the trademark design, section 134.46 marking requirements must be satisfied. Accordingly, the actual country of origin (Costa Rica) of the western shirt must be conspicuously marked, in close proximity to the Texas reference and in lettering of at least a comparable size. The country of origin must also be preceded by the words "Made in", "Product of", or words of similar meaning.

In this case, an additional label indicating the country of origin of the western shirt is sewn into the center of the neck midway between the shoulder seams. In T.D. 54640(6), Customs determined that country of origin marking appearing on the inside center of the neck of a shirt midway between the shoulder seams or in that immediate area is conspicuous within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and is, in fact, the requisite location. Therefore, we find that the additional label satisfies the conspicuous requirement of section 1304. The additional label also satisfies the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. The label is only 1/2" above the Texas reference, and the words "Fabric Made in U.S.A." and "Tailored in Costa Rica" are printed in approximately 18 point, as compared to 9 point which is the approximate letter size of the Texas reference. A distance of 1/2" is in our opinion in close proximity to the Texas reference. Thus, the close proximity and comparable size requirements of section 134.46 are satisfied. Lastly, although the country of origin marking "Costa Rica" in this case is preceded by the words "Tailored in" rather than "Made in" or "Product of" as suggested by section 134.46, we find that it properly indicates the country of origin of the western shirt and is an acceptable marking of country of origin. Customs has previously ruled that use of the phrase "Tailored in" is an acceptable marking to indicate country of origin. 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. Based on these considerations we find that the additional label which is printed with the words "Fabric Made in U.S.A." and "Tailored in Costa Rica" is conspicuously marked and satisfies the marking requirements of section 134.46.

HOLDING:

The proposed country of origin marking of imported men's western shirts, as described above, satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and section 19 CFR 134.46.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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