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NY 806965

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February 21, 1995

MAR-2-05:S:N:N3:115 806965

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. J.G. Ritter
Sandvik Saws and Tools Company
19 Keystone Industrial Park
P.O. Box 2036
Scranton, PA 18501-2036

RE: The country of origin marking requirements for wrenches from Germany.

Dear Mr. Ritter:

In your letter dated February 2, 1995, you requested a ruling on the country of origin marking requirements for electronic torque wrenches.

The subject items are electronic torque wrenches. They will be manufactured in Germany. You have requested that the marking requirements for these wrenches be satisfied by the marking designation "Made in EC" on the individual cardboard box, instead of "Made in Germany" being marked on the wrenches. You further state that these wrenches will be sold through distributors to end users in the individual cardboard box. Thusly, the ultimate purchaser(s) will be aware of the country of origin.

Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304) provides in general that any article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the United States must be marked conspicuously, indelibly, legibly and as permanently as the nature of the article will permit in such manner as to indicate the country of origin to the ultimate purchaser in the United States.

Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. As defined at 19 CFR 134.1(a), for country of origin marking purposes "country" means the political entity known as a nation. Inasmuch as the "European Community" ("EC") is an organization of sovereign states, operating largely as a customs union, it is not a "country" as defined in the Customs Regulations. The names "European Community" and "EC" cannot be used as country names for marking purposes. Articles originating in the EC, must be marked with their actual country of origin for importation into the United States.

Section 134.32 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.32) provides for general exceptions to marking requirements. In your particular instance, subsection (d) applies which provides for the exception to the marking requirements for articles for which the marking of the containers will reasonably indicate the origin of the articles. "Made in Germany" on the individual sealed containers, which you state will reach the end users who are the ultimate purchasers of the goods, will satisfy the marking requirements for the electronic torque wrenches.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director

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