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HQ 734759


February 16, 1993

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 734759 KR

CATEGORY: MARKING

Ms. Cindy Padilla
GRAFX, Inc.
Mile Marker 204, Hwy. 84
Abiquiu, NM 87510

RE: Country of origin marking of artist's easel kits and wood frames; 19 CFR 10.22; subheading 9802.00.80 (HTSUS).

Dear Ms. Padilla:

This is in response to your letter dated August 5, 1992, and your facsimile dated November 12, 1992, requesting a country of origin ruling regarding artist's easel kits and wood frames.

FACTS:

You state that your company provides contract packaging, bindery and hand assembly service in Mexico for the U.S. graphic arts and supply trade. This ruling concerns the importation of two products, artist's easel kits and wood frames.

Wood Frame

GRAFX will receive in Mexico: wood cut to length with machined corner joints imported from Malaysia, staples, lacquer, sandpaper, polybags, stretch wrap, and master cartons. GRAFX will be using mahogany wood imported from Malaysia, but may also be using wood made of pine and maple which is of U.S. origin. In Mexico the frames will be assembled by force fitting the joints together and stapling. The frames are then sanded and prepared for lacquer, lacquered and put into a master carton. The purpose of the lacquer is to seal the wood. The wood frames are designed to have canvas stretched over the wood and attached so that the canvas will cover three of the four sides of the wood slat.

Artist's Easel Kits

GRAFX will receive in Mexico: fifteen foot to twenty foot lengths of 5/8 inch square wood stock already machined and grooved, self tapping screws with rubber foot, the necessary hardware for consumer assembly, and the instruction sheets. In Mexico the wood stock will be cut to the required lengths of 35 inches, 22 inches and 22 1/8 inches. Holes will be drilled into the wood and the screw with the rubber foot will be assembled into the hole. The pieces of wood and the assembly hardware will be placed into polybags to form a complete easel kit. The bag is sealed. The bag is then combined with the instruction sheet and then stretch wrapped together. This is then placed in another polybag and sealed. The wood and other materials used for the easels are of U.S. origin. You submitted a time study which showed an assembly process of 17 steps which took less than fourteen minutes to complete.

In your ruling request you state that the polybag containing the artist's easel kit is packed into a master carton containing the frames described above. However, in a telephone conversation on February 3, 1993, you stated that the two different products will not be boxed in the same box, but may be shipped on the same pallets for shipping convenience. You state that you currently mark your products "Assembled in Mexico with materials originating from the United States".

ISSUES:

What marking must be placed on the master carton containing both the artist's easel kits and the wood frames?

What country of origin marking must be placed on the individual artist's easel kit and the individual wood frame?

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 10.22, (Customs Regulations 19 CFR ?10.22), provides that assembled articles entitled to be imported under subheading 9802.00.80 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) (19 U.S.C. 1202), which permits reduced duty treatment for the value of the components manufactured in the U.S. and assembled abroad, are considered products of the country of assembly for the purpose of country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304. See HQ 731484 (October 3, 1988).

Under Section 10.22, Customs Regulations, an article which is assembled abroad entirely of American-made materials may be marked by using a legend such as "Assembled in _____ from material of U.S. origin", or words of similar meaning.

19 CFR 10.16(a), relating to subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, provides that the assembly operation performed abroad may consist of any method used to join or fit together solid components, such as welding, soldering, riveting, force fitting, gluing, lamination, sewing or the use of fasteners. Operations incidental to the assembly process are not considered further fabrication operations, as they are of a minor nature and cannot always be provided for in advance of the assembly operations.

Artist's Easel Kits

In this situation, the artist's easel kits are imported into Mexico with all the necessary parts made in the U.S. The primary component, the wood pieces are shipped to Mexico already machined and grooved. The wood is cut to the appropriate length in approximately six seconds. The entire processing done in Mexico takes less than fourteen minutes. We find that these are acceptable assembly operations or operations incidental thereto under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS. Pursuant to 19 CFR 10.22, this is an imported assembled article made entirely of U.S. materials, therefore, the article may be marked "Assembled in Mexico from material of U.S. origin" or words of similar meaning.

Wood Frames

The primary component of the wood frames, the wood pieces, are imported from Malaysia already cut to length and machined. All the remaining parts are from the U.S. All the parts for the wood frames are then shipped to Mexico. The pre-cut and pre-machined wood pieces are then stapled together, sanded and lacquered. The lacquer process is only to seal the wood and not to enhance the wood's decoration. The lacquer process, therefore, constitutes an operation incidental to the assembly of the wood pieces. Accordingly, the assembled article qualifies for treatment under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS. Pursuant to 19 CFR 10.22, the country of origin of the wood frames is the country of assembly. The country of origin marking required on the wood frame will depend on the country of origin of the wood. The wood made of pine and maple which is of U.S. origin, will allow the wood frames to be marked "Assembled in Mexico from material of U.S. origin" or words of similar meaning. To the extent that the mahogany imported from Malaysia is used, the wood frames must be marked "Assembled in Mexico of material of Malaysian origin."

The ultimate purchaser of the artist's easel kits and the wood frames is the retail consumer in the U.S. who will buy the individual artist's easel kit or the individual wood frame. Therefore, the individual artist's easel kit and the individual wood frame must be marked with the appropriate country of origin marking in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article will permit. It is likely that marking the outside of the shrink-wrapped retail package will suffice for this purpose, but we can not make this determination since an example of the marked articles was not submitted for review. There is no requirement under Section 304 that master cartons or pallets be marked, although it is often the case that marking such containers will assist Customs officials and speed the import process. If either of the two products will be removed from the shipping carton after being returned to the U.S. and repackaged prior to sale to the ultimate purchaser, the repacking certification requirements of 19 CFR 134.26 apply.

HOLDING:

The artist's easel kits may be marked "Assembled in Mexico of material of U.S. origin" or words of similar meaning pursuant to 19 CFR 10.22. The wood frames which have wood of U.S. origin may be marked "Assembled in Mexico of materials of U.S. origin" or words of similar meaning. The wood frames constructed from wood imported from Malaysia must be marked "Assembled in Mexico of materials of Malaysian origin" or words of similar meaning. The ultimate purchaser is the retail consumer of the individual kit or frame. Therefore, the individual artist's easel kit and individual wood frame must be marked with the country of origin marking.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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