HQ 735332 - Country of origin marking of automotive parts imported from various foreign countries; conspicuous; close proximity; U.S. locality; 19 CFR 134.46; C.S.D. 92-33; HQ 734491; HQ 734469: refers ultimate purchaser to look for origin in another location - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 735332

August 18, 1994

Mar-2-05 CO:R:C:S 735332 AT

CATEGORY: MARKING

Kathleen M. Murphy, Esq.
Katten Muchin & Zavis
525 West Monroe Street
Suite 1600
Chicago, Illinois 60661-3693

RE: Country of origin marking of automotive parts imported from various foreign countries; conspicuous; close proximity; U.S. locality; 19 CFR 134.46; C.S.D. 92-33; HQ 734491; HQ 734469: refers ultimate purchaser to look for origin in another location

Dear Ms. Murphy:

This is in response to your letters dated August 25 and December 22, 1993, and July 1, 1994, on behalf of Robert Bosch Corporation ("Bosch"), requesting a ruling on the country of origin marking of imported automotive parts and accessories imported in bulk for repackaging in the United States. Sample automotive parts (fuel pump and a cap & rotor kit) and the containers in which the parts are repackaged were submitted with your letters.

FACTS:

You state that Bosch intends to import automotive parts and accessories from various foreign countries to be sold to original equipment manufacturers and retail and auto stores in the U.S. Some of the imported products may consist of a single part, for example, a gasoline fuel pump. Others, however, may consist of multiple parts, such as a cap and rotor.

You also state that some of the products imported by Bosch into the U.S. are entered in bulk shipments. These products, you claim, will be properly marked at the time of importation with their country of origin, legibly and conspicuously, by die stamping, cast-in-mold lettering, or other permanent means. In the U.S., Bosch intends to repack the imported bulk products into retail containers. The containers will consist of two types, either opaque 6 sided cardboard cartons or transparent blister pack containers. The blister packs will be attached to a cardboard placard, which will permit them to be displayed on hooks at retail stores. You have submitted a sample of each type of container as well as sample automotive part(s) packaged in the containers for our review.

Bosch proposes to print the words "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" on the outside of the cardboard retail containers or, in the case of the blister packs, on the placard to which they are attached. You state that for both the cardboard container and blister packs, the origin statement "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" will be placed on the same panel as the company's U.S. address and in comparable print size.

The sample cardboard container is unsealed and printed with Bosch's company address "Broadview, Illinois 60153" on the back panel of the box in red lettering approximately 7 points (a point is a unit of measurement approximately equal to 0.01384 inches or nearly 1/72 inches). The words "Contents Imported as Marked" appear directly below the company's address in red lettering approximately 7 points. Product information such as quantity, description of the part and part number is printed on the top flap of the box. Bosch's name appears on three panels of the box. Inside the box is a gasoline fuel pump which is packaged in a clear plastic bag. No markings appear on the plastic bag. The country of origin of the pump "Made in Germany" and the part number is die stamped into the bottom of the pump which can be easily seen and read through the bag.

The sample blister pack is sealed and contains a cardboard placard inside. The bottom front of the placard is marked with the company's address "Broadview, Il." on the bottom in black lettering approximately 7 points. The words "Contents Imported as Marked" appear directly below the company's address. Other information, such as the description of the article, part number and car model, appears on the top of the front panel. The company's name "Bosch", a description of the article and warranty information appear on the back of the placard. A cap and rotor kit is attached to the placard inside the sealed blister pack. The country of origin marking "Made in Japan" and part number are cast-in-mold into the cap and rotor. The origin marking "Made in Japan", however, cannot be easily seen or read through the sealed plastic blister pack.

You contend that since each of the repackaged products is properly marked with their country of origin, the proposed marking "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" printed on either the cardboard container or the blister placard, in the manner described above, satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134.

ISSUES:

Does the phrase "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" proposed to be marked on the cardboard containers and the placard attached to the blister packs as described above satisfy the country of origin marking requirements set forth in Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended?

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. 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. Friedlaender & 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." If an imported article is to be sold at retail in its imported form, the purchaser at retail is the ultimate purchaser. In this case, the ultimate purchaser of the automotive parts and accessories is the consumer who purchases the product at retail.Are The Automotive Parts Conspicuously Marked With The Country Of Origin?

Section 134.41, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41), provides that the country of origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain.

In this case, we find that, as imported, the country of origin markings "Made in Germany" die stamped on the fuel pump and "Made in Japan" molded into the cap and rotor are conspicuous in that they are easy to find and read.

Are the Repackaged Automotive Parts Conspicuously Marked with the Country of Origin?

As indicated above, after importation Bosch intends to repackage the individually marked automotive parts and accessories into retail containers (either unsealed cardboard cartons or sealed plastic blister packs). Therefore, Bosch must satisfy the repackaging certification requirements set forth in 19 CFR 134.26. 19 CFR 134.26 provides in pertinent part that:

If an imported article subject to these requirements is intended to be repackaged in retail containers (e.g. blister packs) after its release from Customs custody, or if the district director having custody of the article, has reason to believe that such article will be repacked after its release, the importer shall certify to the district director that: (1) If the importer does the repacking, he shall not obscure or conceal the country of origin marking appearing on the article, or else the new container shall be marked to indicate the country of origin of the article in accordance with the requirements of this part . . . (Emphasis added).

Due to the fact that Bosch proposes to mark the retail containers with the phrase "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" to indicate the country of origin of the imported article(s) it must be determined whether this phrase satisfies the marking requirements set forth in 19 CFR Part 134. Does The Proposed Country of Origin Marking "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" Printed on the Retail Containers In The Manner Described Above Satisfy The Marking Requirements Of 19 CFR Part 134? In determining 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 other than the country of origin appear on the imported article, special marking requirements are triggered.

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.

The special marking requirements set forth in section 134.46 are triggered by the words "Broadview, Illinois" printed on the back panel of the cardboard carton and on the front side of the placard enclosed in the blister pack directly above the country of origin marking. Accordingly, the actual country of origin of the imported automotive parts must appear "in close proximity" to the U.S. reference and in lettering of at least a comparable size. Therefore, the critical issue presented in this case is whether the marking "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin Marking" printed directly below the U.S. reference "Broadview, Illinois" satisfies the country of origin marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.46.

Customs has previously approved country of origin markings which do not designate a specific country of origin in close proximity to the U.S. reference but instead direct the ultimate purchaser to a conspicuous location where the country of origin can be found on the article. For example, in C.S.D. 92-33 (September 2, 1992), Customs determined that the language "See Part Number Label For Country of Origin" printed on stand-alone boxes and outside wrappers containing imported engine parts immediately beneath a U.S. address, was acceptable if the part number label displaying the name of the country of origin was easily visible to the ultimate purchaser. See also, HQ 734491 (April 13, 1992), in which Customs approved the country of origin marking "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" printed on retail containers where the auto parts were individually marked with their origin. In HQ 732374 (July 7,1989), Customs approved the language "Refer to neck label for country of origin" printed on the outside of a poly bag containing men's dress shirts immediately beneath a U.S. address, provided the neck label displaying the name of the country of origin in each shirt was easily visible to the ultimate purchaser.

Similarly, in this case, we find that the proposed origin marking printed on the unsealed cardboard carton directly below the U.S. reference satisfies the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. The words "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" appears in close proximity and at least in comparable size to the U.S. reference "Broadview, Illinois". Moreover, the actual country of origin on the fuel pump is conspicuously marked on the bottom of the pump, being that the marking is both easy to find and read by an ultimate purchaser.

With respect to the origin marking "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" printed on the placard of the sealed blister pack and directly below the U.S. reference "Broadview, Illinois", we find that the marking does not satisfy the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. Although the origin marking appears in close proximity and at least in a comparable size as the U.S. reference, the actual origin marking "Made in Japan" marked on the sample cap and rotor contained inside the sealed blister pack cannot be easily found or read through the blister pack upon a casual examination. The cap and rotor cannot be easily examined for its country of origin since the blister pack is sealed. Accordingly, the actual country of origin of the automotive part or accessories must be indicated in close proximity to the U.S. reference and in at least a comparable size lettering to satisfy the marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.46.

We note, however, that if the country of origin marking can be easily found and read through the blister pack upon a casual examination of the article(s) inside, as is not the case here with the submitted sample, marking the placard of the blister pack with the origin marking "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" in the same manner as described above would satisfy the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 and, thus would be an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported automotive parts and accessories repacked in the blister packs.HOLDING:

Automotive parts and accessories which are imported conspicuously marked with their country of origin and are repacked in the U.S. into either cardboard cartons or plastic blister packs for retail sale are subject to the certification and notice requirements of 19 CFR 134.26.

Marking the repacked cardboard cartons with the phrase "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" in the manner described above satisfies the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134, provided the imported automotive parts and accessories are individually marked to indicate their country of origin.

Marking the placard enclosed in the plastic blister pack with the country of origin marking "Contents Imported. See Article for Country of Origin" in the manner described above satisfies the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134, provided the country of origin marking on the individual imported article(s) can be easily found and read through the blister pack, as is not the case with the submitted cap and rotor kit.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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