HQ 0735568 - Country of origin marking for imported wearing apparel; "Cut in" or "Fabric Made & Cut in" in lieu of "Made in"; words of similar meaning; clearly indicate; 19 CFR 134.46 - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 735568

June 1, 1994

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 735568 AT

CATEGORY: MARKING

Chia-sheng Pan, Director
Coordination Council For North American Affairs Economic Division
4301 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Suite 420
Washington, D.C. 20008-2387

RE: Country of origin marking for imported wearing apparel; "Cut in" or "Fabric Made & Cut in" in lieu of "Made in"; words of similar meaning; clearly indicate; 19 CFR 134.46

Dear Mr. Pan:

This is in response to your letters dated March 22 and May 10, 1994, concerning the acceptability of proposed country of origin markings for imported men's golf and polo shirts.

FACTS:

The shirts will be processed in two countries, Taiwan and China. In Taiwan, Taiwanese fabric will be cut into the requisite garment panels for assembly. The cut panels are then shipped to China to be assembled into the finished garment. You state that it is your belief that the country of origin of the finished shirts is Taiwan based on Customs ruling HQ 952531 (November 25, 1992). You also state that marking appears on the finished shirt indicating an origin other than Taiwan triggering the special marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. Assuming that the country of origin of the finished shirts is Taiwan and the special marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are triggered, you have requested Customs to determine whether it would be acceptable to mark the finished shirts by any of the three following ways:

1. Made in Taiwan, Assembled in China; or

2. Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China; or

3. Fabric Made & Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China ISSUE:

Do the proposed country of origin markings, as stated above, satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134.46?

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.

With regard to the requirement to indicate the country of origin, the Court of Customs Appeals has stated:

Obviously, the purpose of section 304, which goes into great detail as to how the marking shall be done, was to require a marking such as would be understood by purchasers of foreign-made goods as giving definite and reliable information as to the country of origin. It is not reasonable to suppose that Congress, by the use of the word "indicate" meant only that the words used should hint at the country of origin. The object sought to be obtain- ed by the legislature could best be obtained by an indication which was clear, plain, an unambiguous and which did more than merely hint at the country of origin (original emphasis added).

American Burtonizing Co. v. United States, 13 Ct. Cust. Appls. 652, T.D. 41489 (1926).

Section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), requires that in any case in which the words "United States," or "American," the letters "U.S.A.," any variation of such words or letters, or the name of any city or locality in the United States, or the name of any foreign country or locality other than the country or locality in which the article was manufactured or produced, appears on an 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. The purpose of this section is to prevent the possibility of misleading or deceiving the ultimate purchaser as to the actual origin of the imported goods.

In this case, in order to comply with the special marking requirements set forth in section 134.46 the country of origin of the shirts (assumed to be Taiwan for purposes of this ruling) must be preceded by the words "Made in", "Product of," or other words of similar meaning. Also, the proposed origin markings must clearly indicate to the ultimate purchaser that the article's country of origin is Taiwan.

The proposed marking "Made in Taiwan, Assembled in China" satisfies the special marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. The country of origin "Taiwan" is preceded by the words "Made in" as required by 19 CFR 134.46. Also, the proposed marking clearly indicates that the country of origin of the shirt is Taiwan. The additional language "Assembled in China" would not confuse an ultimate purchaser into believing that the article is of Chinese origin but would be determined as an indication that some further processing was performed in China to the finished article. Therefore, we find that this marking satisfies the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.46.

However, we find that the proposed markings "Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China" and "Fabric Made & Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China" do not satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.46. In our opinion the words "Cut in" and "Fabric Made & Cut in" are not other words of similar meaning to "Made in" and "Product of," as required by 19 CFR 134.46. Also, the words "Cut in" and "Fabric Made & Cut in" do not clearly indicate that the country of origin of the article is Taiwan. In our opinion, an ultimate purchaser reading these markings could only determine that the finished shirt was processed in Taiwan and China, but could not determine the actual country of origin of the shirt as required by 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.46. Therefore, the proposed markings "Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China" and "Fabric Made and Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China" are not acceptable country of origin markings for the imported shirts.

It should be noted that textile fiber products imported into the U.S. must be labeled in accordance with the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act (15 U.S.C. 70 through 70k) and the rules promulgated thereunder by the Federal Trade Commission. Fiber content labelling is covered under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act. Therefore, we suggest that you contact the Federal Trade Commission, Division of Enforcement, 6th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20508, as to whether the proposed marking for the imported garments satisfies such requirements.

HOLDING:

The proposed marking "Made in Taiwan, Assembled in China" satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.46, and is an acceptable country of origin marking for imported men's golf and polo shirts provided the country of origin of the shirt is Taiwan.

The proposed markings "Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China" and "Fabric Made & Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China" do not satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.46, and therefore are not acceptable country of origin markings for the imported shirts.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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