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HQ 734506





September 22, 1992

MAR-2-05 CO:R:V:C 734506 AT

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Chuck Malitz
Texas IM-EX, Incorporated
Box 378G
Fort Worth, Texas 76108

RE: Country of origin marking of men's western jackets and coats; 19 CFR 134.41; 19 CFR 134.47; 19 CFR 134.46; conspicuous; trademark marking; close proximity; Tailored- Made in; T.D. 54640(6); HQ 722064; HQ 734096

Dear Mr. Malitz:

This is in response to your letters of February 11 and July 29, 1992, requesting a country of origin ruling regarding imported western jackets and coats. A photostatic copy diagram indicating the manner in which these jackets and coats will be marked with the country of origin was also submitted with your letter.

FACTS:

Your company intends to import men's western jackets and coats made in Costa Rica from U.S. fabric. It appears from the submitted photostat that three labels are sewn into the jacket. The first label, which is the main label (approximately 3" x 4 1/2") is located on the inside center of the neck midway between the shoulder seams. The words "TEXAS SAGE" (a trademark of Niver Western Wear, Inc.), are printed on the label and directly below this appears the city of Fort Worth, Texas trademark (The 7 horsemen with the Texas lone star and longhorn above them). The words "Fort Worth, Texas are printed below the trademark design in approximately 7 point lettering (a point is a unit of type measurement equal to 0.01384 inch or nearly 1/72 in., and all type sizes are multiples of this unit). The second label is sewn below the main label and printed with the words "Tailored Made in Costa Rico in approximately 11 point lettering. The third label is sewn above the main label indicating the fiber content, size and care instructions for the jacket. You state that in order to be able to use the Fort Worth trademark you must have the words "Fort Worth, Texas" printed on the same label as the trademark design.

ISSUE:

Does the proposed marking of the imported men's western jackets and coats in the manner described above satisfy the country of origin marking requirements of section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended and 19 CFR Part 134?

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. 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. Friedlander & 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."

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 purchasers 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 in the U.S., or the name of any foreign country or locality other than the country of origin appear on an imported article, special marking requirements are triggered.

The marking issue raised in this case involves the application of two related provisions of the marking regulations, 19 CFR 134.46 and 19 CFR 134.47. The application of the special marking requirements set forth in these provisions is triggered by the presence of the words "Fort Worth, Texas" printed on the main label.

Both provisions serve the same purpose of preventing ultimate purchasers from being misled or deceived when the name of a country or place other than the country of origin appears on an imported article or its container. The critical difference between the two provisions is that section 134.46 requires that the name of the actual country of origin appear "in close proximity" to the U.S. reference and in lettering of at least comparable size. By contrast, 134.47 requires less, providing that when the name of a place other than the country of origin appears as part of a trademark or trade name or as part of a souvenir marking, the name of the actual country of origin must appear in close proximity to the place "or in some other conspicuous location". In other words, if the question concerns a trade name or trademark, the country of origin marking needs only to meet the general standard of conspicuousness. In either case, the name of the country of origin must be preceded by "Made in," "Product of," or words of similar meaning.

As applied here, it is our opinion that the more stringent requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 must apply. The words "Fort Worth, Texas" which appear on the main label are printed directly below the trademark design, but are not part of the trademark. Here, because the words "Fort Worth, Texas" are not part of the trademark design, section 134.46 marking requirements must be satisfied. Accordingly, the actual country of origin (Costa Rica) of the western jackets and coats must be conspicuously marked, in close proximity to the Texas reference and in lettering of at least a comparable size. The country of origin must also be preceded by the words "Made in," "Product of," or words of similar meaning. However, the country of origin marking need not appear in comparable size letters to the large "Texas Sage" reference since it is a trademark.

In this case, an additional label indicating the country of origin of the western jackets and coats is sewn directly below the label near the center of the neck midway between the shoulder seams. In T.D. 54640(6), Customs determined that the country of origin marking appearing on the inside center of the neck of wearing apparel such as shirts, blouses, coats, sweaters, etc. midway between the shoulder seams or in that immediate is conspicuous within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and is, in fact, the requisite location. Therefore, we find that the additional label satisfies the conspicuous requirement of section 1304. The additional label also satisfies the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. The label is only 1/2 inches below the Texas reference, and the words "Tailored Made in Costa Rica" are printed in approximately 11 point lettering, as compared to 7 point which is the approximate letter size of the Texas reference. A distance of 1/2 inches is in our opinion in close proximity to the Texas reference. Thus the close proximity and comparable size requirements of section 19 CFR 134.46 are satisfied. Lastly, although the country of origin marking "Costa Rica" in this case is preceded by the words "Tailored Made in" rather than "Made in" or "Product of" as suggested by section 134.46, we find that it properly indicates the country of origin of the western jackets and coats and is an acceptable marking of country of origin. In HQ 734096 (September 3, 1991), Customs ruled that the phrase "Tailor Made in" sufficiently designated the country of origin of suits and suit-type jackets and therefore was an acceptable country of origin marking. Customs stated that an ultimate purchaser would not be confused as to what the country of manufacture of the article was because generally one associates that the words "Tailor Made in" mean that the article was manufactured or made in that country. Similarly, in this case, we find that an ultimate purchaser of the western jackets or coats would determine that the words "Tailored Made in Costa Rica" printed on the label indicates that the country of origin of the article is Costa Rica and not the U.S. Based on these considerations we find that the additional label which is printed with the words "Tailored Made in Costa Rica" is conspicuously marked and satisfies the marking requirements of section 134.46.

HOLDING:

The proposed country of origin marking of imported men's western jackets and coats, marked in the manner described above, satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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