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HQ 559592




December 14, 1995
MAR-2-05 RR:TC:SM 559592 AT

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Rick Strickland
President
Command Wear
2201 North Collins, Suite 370
Arlington, Texas 76011

RE: Country of origin marking of imported flight suits and jackets assembled from U.S. components; 19 CFR 10.22

Dear Mr. Strickland:

This is in response to your letter dated November 29, 1995, requesting a ruling on an acceptable country of origin marking for imported flight suits and jackets from Mexico.

FACTS:

You state that your company intends to import replica flight suits and jackets from Mexico into the U.S. The garments will be assembled in Mexico from U.S. designed and cut fabric components. Given that the completed garment will be assembled in Mexico from U.S. components, you ask whether the wearing apparel can be marked "Assembled in Mexico" followed by the words "Designed in U.S.A." in smaller size lettering. You also state that the proposed marking will appear on the neck label attached to the garments.

ISSUE:

Whether the proposed marking "Assembled in Mexico; Designed in U.S.A." is an acceptable country of origin marking for wearing apparel assembled in Mexico from U.S. designed and cut fabric components. 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 its 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.

Pursuant to section 10.22, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.22), articles assembled abroad in whole or in part from U.S. components and entered under a partial duty exemption under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, are considered products of the country of assembly for purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1304. In this case, since U.S. fabric components are exported to Mexico to be assembled into finished flight suits and jackets, it appears that the finished garments will be eligible for the partial duty exemption under 9802.00.80, HTSUS. Thus, pursuant to 19 CFR 10.22, the country of origin of the flight suits and jackets for country of origin marking purposes is Mexico, the country of assembly. Marking the flight suits and jackets with the phrase "Assembled in Mexico; Designed in U.S.A." would be an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported flight suits and jackets. The statement "Designed in U.S.A." which follows the words "Assembled in Mexico" would not mislead an ultimate purchaser into believing that the garment was U.S. origin since it only indicates to the ultimate purchaser that the garments were designed in the U.S., a truthful statement. Accordingly, the proposed marking "Assembled in Mexico; Designed in U.S.A." satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 10.22, and thus is an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported garments provided the marking is conspicuous, legible and permanent.

We note, however, that Customs has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to remove 19 CFR 10.22 in conjunction with the "Rules for Determining the Country of Origin of a Good for Purposes of Annex 311 of the North American Free Trade Agreement; Rules of Origin Applicable to Imported Merchandise" published on May 5, 1995, in the "Federal Register," 60 Fed. Reg. 22312. The notice in the "federal Register" indicated that, but for the application of 19 CFR 10.22, the country of origin of an article eligible for entry under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, may not necessarily be the country where it was assembled if the interim Part 102, Customs Regulations, or substantial transformation test is followed. Accordingly the May 5, 1995, "Federal Register" notice proposes to remove 19 CFR 10.22. The comment period for the May 5, 1995, notice expired on July 19, 1995. If the proposal to repeal 19 CFR 10.22 is adopted as a final rule, Customs may adopt new regulations which prescribe the circumstances for the general use of the words "Assembled in" as a country of origin indicator.

Also, Customs has published a final rule on September 5, 1995, in the "Federal Register," (60 Fed. Reg. 46188) setting forth the final amendments to implement the provisions of section 334 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act relating to the country of origin of textile and apparel products. These amendments will become effective on July 1, 1996, and are set forth in section 102.21, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 102.21).

In the interim period, however, Customs will continue to apply 19 CFR 10.22 to determine the country of origin of imported articles eligible under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUS, for country of origin marking purposes.

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. 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 wearing apparel satisfies such requirements.

HOLDING:

The proposed country of origin marking "Assembled in Mexico; Designed in U.S.A., as described above, satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 10.22 provided the imported garments are eligible for a partial duty exemption under 9802.00.80, HTSUS, and the marking is conspicuous, legible and permanent. A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is entered. 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,

John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification

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