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HQ 734969


August 16, 1993

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 734969 RC

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. J. Scheltgen, President
Lake City Technical Products Inc.
#5 - 1952 Spall Road
Kelowna, B.C., Canada V1Y 4R1

RE: Country of Origin Marking for Used Semiconductors; Unknown Origin; T.D. 51100(4).

Dear Mr. Scheltgen:

This is in response to your letter dated January 8, 1993 requesting a ruling regarding the country of origin marking requirements for imported semiconductors.

FACTS:

The importer, Lake City Technical Products, buys obsolete semiconductor parts "as is" at auctions, bankruptcies and inventory liquidation/reduction bids in the U.S. Lake City verifies the integrity of the parts for defects and catalogs them in Canada. There are 7,500 part numbers covering 950,000 parts.

The importer submitted a photocopy of a document printed with the following language:

MADE IN ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES: CHINA, HONG KONG, INDONESIA, JAPAN, KOREA, MALAYSIA, PHILIPPINES, SINGAPORE, TAIWAN, THAILAND, UNITED KINGDOM. THE EXACT COUNTRY OF ORIGIN IS UNKNOWN.

ISSUE:

Whether the marking as described above complies with 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin or its container imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place legibly, indelibly, and permanently 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 "country of origin" for marking purposes is defined by section 134.1(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), to mean the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the U.S. Provided for under section 134.1(d), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(d)), the "ultimate purchaser" generally is defined as the last person in the United States who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported.

Pursuant to section 134.32(i), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.32(i)), articles which were produced more than 20 years prior to their importation into the U.S. are excepted from country of origin marking inasmuch as their containers are marked in a manner which is legible, conspicuous, and permanent.

According to T.D. 51100(4) (dated July 18, 1944), when the name of the country of origin of an imported article is not known but the names of the countries, in one of which it was manufactured or produced, are known the article (or its container) shall be marked to show the names of all the countries in which it may have originated but that the exact country of origin is unknown.

HOLDING:

The language of this marking complies with T.D. 51100(4) as long as the district director at the port of entry is satisfied that the origin of the subject merchandise cannot be determined.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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