HQ 0734721 - Country of origin marking of woks; 19 CFR 134.46 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 734721

February 19, 1993

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 734721 KR

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Keith Ohmart, Vice President
Joyce Chen Products
25 Industrial Way
Wilmington, MA 01887

RE: Country of origin marking of woks; 19 CFR 134.46

Dear Mr. Ohmart:

This is in response to your letter dated July 8, 1992, requesting a country of origin marking ruling on behalf of Joyce Chen Products, a division of Joyce Chen, Inc. regarding three woks which are made in Taiwan. Samples of three models of woks were submitted for examination.

FACTS:

You state that Joyce Chen Products intends to import three models of woks which are made in Taiwan. Woks are metal bowl- shaped cooking utensils traditionally used for cooking or stir- frying Asian cuisine (although the current use of a wok has expanded to various styles of cooking). Item #20-0505 is a non- stick wok. This wok has an adhesive label attached to the inside of the cooking surface. The label gives the care instructions for the wok. At the bottom of the label is printed:

Joyce Chen Products
Waltham, MA 02154

Made in Taiwan

Item #20-0510 is a classic wok. This wok has an oil coating to protect the metal. Because of this coating the wok is packaged in a clear poly bag to prevent staining from the oil residue. An adhesive label is attached to the poly bag. The label is substantially similar to the label discussed supra.

Item #21-9931 is a multiple piece non-stick wok set. This set is packaged in a cardboard box. The box has pictures of the wok on four of its six sides. Those four sides also have printed on them "Eastern cookware for the Western kitchen JOYCE CHEN", "14" flat bottom wok set", "5 - piece set [picture of set] pan, lid, spatula, steam rack, recipes", and "non-stick for easy cooking". The two remaining sides are the ends which can be opened to remove the woks. One end contains the same information as the other four side except there is no picture of the wok, no picture of the set, and no list of the items of the set. Instead, the fifth side gives a narrative of the benefits of a Joyce Chen wok. The sixth side of the box is similar to the fifth, except that there is no narrative. Instead, the sixth side contains the UPC code, a list of the features of the wok, and:

Joyce Chen Products
Wilmington, MA 01887

Made in Taiwan

A Division of Joyce Chen, Inc.

Joyce Chen & Design are registered trademarks of Joyce Chen, Inc.

Model #21-9931

Copyright [symbol] Joyce Chen, Inc. 1991

ISSUE:

Does the country of origin marking appearing on each of the woks and wok set satisfy Customs Regulations, 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 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 1120 (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 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 the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. The definition then gives examples of who might be the ultimate purchaser if the imported article is used in manufacture, and if the imported article is sold at retail in its imported form. If the article is sold at retail in its imported form, the purchaser at retail is the ultimate purchaser.

An article is excepted from marking under 19 U.S.C. 1304 (a)(3)(D) and 19 CFR 134.32(d), if the marking of a container of such article will reasonably indicate the origin of such article. This exception is applicable if Customs is satisfied that the marked container in which the article is imported will reach the ultimate purchaser in all reasonably foreseeable circumstances in its original, unopened and properly marked container. C.S.D. 89- 78. We find that the cardboard box containing the wok set satisfies these requirements.

Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), requires that when the name of any city or locality in the U.S., or the name of any foreign country or locality other than the name of the country or locality in which the article was manufactured or produced, appear on a imported article or its container, there shall appear, legibly and permanently, in close proximity to such words, letters or name, and in at least a comparable size, the name of the country of origin preceded by "Made in," "Product of," or other words of similar meaning. Customs has ruled that in order to satisfy the close proximity requirement, the country of origin marking must appear on the same side(s) or surface(s) in which the name of the locality other than the country of origin appears. HQ 708994 (April 24, 1978). The purpose of 19 CFR 134.46 is to prevent the possibility of misleading or deceiving the ultimate purchaser as to the origin of the imported article. See HQ 734505 (August 27, 1992).

The woks and wok set have U.S. addresses of the producer, Joyce Chen Products. In each case, immediately below the U.S. address appears "Made in Taiwan" in approximately the same size lettering. We find that this satisfies the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. We further find that the adhesive labels in each of the circumstances are sufficiently permanent as to reach the ultimate purchaser with the label intact.

HOLDING:

The country of origin marking on the adhesive labels on the woks and country of origin marking on the box of the wok set satisfy the requirements of 19 CFR Part 134.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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