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HQ 559626

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October 17, 1996

MAR-05 RR:TC:SM 559626 KKV

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Mick W. Blakely
Border Brokerage Company
P.O. Box 3549
Blaine, Washington 98231

RE: Country of origin marking; NAFTA; student agenda; handbook; 19 CFR 134.46; HQ 731663; HQ 731882; HQ 734164; conspicuous; 19 CFR 134.43

Dear Mr. Blakely:

This is in response to your letter dated January 4, 1996 and subsequent facsimile dated October 3, 1996, which requests a ruling concerning the country of origin marking requirements for merchandise described as a "student handbook" to be imported into the U.S. from Canada. Specifically, your letter inquires whether the proposed marking "Printed in Canada and U.S.A., Assembled in Canada" would be acceptable to Customs. A sample of the finished student handbook has been supplied for our examination.

FACTS:

The "student handbook" submitted for our examination is similar to the "Premier School Agenda" for which Customs previously issued a ruling (HQ 085515, dated December 14, 1989). The article is a spiral bound, plastic-covered book measuring 8 « inches by 11 inches. The handbook, entitled "School Agenda" is sold to school systems throughout the U.S. and Canada for elementary school students to use as an organizational tool. It contains a weekly planner section to encourage the formulation and implementation of study strategies and provides a daily parent/teacher comment section to facilitate communication between these two parties. Colored pictures are interspersed throughout the book, as are study tips, motivational quotations and lessons in a variety of topics, e.g., civic responsibility, personal health, etc. The planner also contains helpful reference material for such subjects as spelling, mathematics, and geography. We are informed that the aforementioned material is printed in the U.S. on U.S.-origin paper. The book also contains a section containing a calendar of the school year and school-related reference material, e.g., staff, hours of operation, attendance policy, etc. We are informed that this material is printed in Canada on U.S.-origin paper.

The aforementioned material is spiral-bound between two plastic covers, which are both printed and laminated in Canada. The outside of the back cover is printed with the logo of the manufacturer together with the words "Premier School Agendas" and the date of the academic school year. The inside of the back cover is printed with a standard ruler, a calendar and mathematics reference material. The outside of the front cover depicts a school logo and motto, with the words "School Agenda" and the date of academic school year. The inside of the front cover is printed with a metric ruler and copyright information, including addresses for the holders of both the Canadian and U.S. copyright holders, as well as the address of U.S. supplier of material contained within the handbook . You propose to mark the inside of the front cover, "Printed in Canada and U.S.A., Assembled in Canada."

ISSUE:

Whether a student agenda assembled in Canada from material printed in the U.S. on U.S.-origin paper and material printed in Canada on U.S. paper may be marked "Printed in Canada and U.S.A., Assembled in Canada."

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 United States 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 United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. By enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304, Congress intended to ensure that the ultimate purchaser would be able to know by inspecting the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods are 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, 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. One of the exceptions to the general marking requirement is codified in 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D) (as implemented by 19 CFR 134.32(d)), which provides that an article may be excepted from marking if the marking of its container will reasonably indicate its origin to the ultimate purchaser. As provided in section 134.41, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41), the country of origin marking is considered to be conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the United States is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. The degree of permanence of the marking should be at least sufficient to insure that in any reasonably foreseeable circumstance, the marking shall remain on the article until it reaches the ultimate purchaser unless it is deliberately removed. The marking must survive normal distribution and store handling.

Section 134.1(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), defines "country of origin" as:

The country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the "country of origin" within the meaning of this part; however for a good of a NAFTA country, the NAFTA
Marking Rules will determine the country of origin. (Emphasis added).

Section 134.1(j), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(j), provides that the "NAFTA Marking Rules" are the rules promulgated for purposes of determining whether a good is a good of a NAFTA country. Section 134.1(g), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(g)), defines a "good of a NAFTA country" as an article for which the country of origin is Canada, Mexico or the United States as determined under the NAFTA Marking Rules, set forth at 19 CFR Part 102. Section 134.45(a)(2) of the Customs regulations (19 CFR 134.45(a)(2)), provides that a "good of a NAFTA country" may be marked with the name of the country of origin in English, French or Spanish.

Section 102.11, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 102.11), sets forth the required hierarchy for determining whether a good is a good of a NAFTA country for marking purposes. This section states that the country of origin of a good is the country in which:

(1) The good is wholly obtained or produced;

(2 The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or

(3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in section 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied.

Section 102.1(e), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 102.1(e)) defines "foreign material" as "a material whose country of origin as determined under these rules is not the same country or origin as the country in which the good is produced.

Because the student handbooks are assembled in Canada of components from the U.S. and Canada, the handbooks are neither wholly obtained or produced, nor produced exclusively from domestic materials. Accordingly, 19 CFR 102.11(a)(3) is the applicable rule that next must be applied to determine the origin of the handbooks.

Upon examination of the submitted sample, the Textiles Classification Branch concluded that, upon importation into the U.S. from Canada, the student agenda is classified under 4820.10.2010, HTSUS, as registers, account books notebooks, order books, receipt books, letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar articles: diaries, notebooks and address books, bound; memorandum pads, letter pads and similar articles, diaries and address books. The unbound stack of colored printed sheets exported to Canada for assembly are classified under 4911.91.4040, HTSUS, as other printed matter, including printed pictures and photographs. Your facsimile indicates that the unbound blank sheets exported to Canada for printing and assembly are classified under subheading 4802.52.2020, HTSUS. Because no information has been supplied which would permit us to verify the validity of this classification (i.e., fiber content, weight, etc.) we will assume it is correct, for purposes of this ruling.

Pursuant to 19 CFR 102.11(a)(3), the country of origin of a good is the country in which each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification as set forth in 19 CFR 102.20, which sets forth the specific tariff classification changes and/or other operations, which are specifically required to occur in order for country of origin to be determined on the basis of operations performed on the foreign materials contained in a good. In the case before us, because the finished student agenda imported from Canada is classified under 4820.10.2010, the change in tariff classification must be made in accordance with section 102.20(j), Section X: Chapters 47 through 49, subheading 4817 - 4822, HTSUS, which requires "[a] change to headings 48.17 through 48.22 from any other heading, including another heading within that group.." The unbound printed pages, which, are initially classified under 4911.91.4040, HTSUS, and unbound blank pages initially classified under 4802.52.1010, HTSUS, are each subsequently classified under subheading 4820.10.2010, HTSUS, as a result of further processing in Canada. Accordingly, each of the foreign materials incorporated in the student agenda undergoes the applicable tariff shift. Consequently, the country of origin of the finished student agenda is Canada.

With regard to the language and placement of the proposed marking, we note that section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), requires that when the name of any city or locality in the U.S., or the name of any foreign country or locality other than the name of the country or locality in which the article was manufactured or produced, appear 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. Customs has ruled that in order to satisfy the close proximity requirement, the country of origin marking must appear on the same side(s) or surface(s) in which the name of the locality other than the country of origin appears (HQ 708994, dated April 24, 1978). The purpose of 19 CFR 134.46 is to prevent the possibility of misleading or deceiving the ultimate purchaser as to the origin of the imported article.

Customs has previously considered country of origin marking with respect to books. In Headquarters Ruling (HQ) 731663, dated July 18, 1989, Customs held that country of origin marking located on the title page or on the back of the title page of a book satisfied the requirement of conspicuousness set forth in 19 U.S.C. 1304 and section 134.41, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41), provided the marking was easily located and could be read without strain. We noted that a reader (the ultimate purchaser) would reasonably be expected to look to the title page or back of the title page for information of this type. Customs indicated, however, that section 134.41 does not require that the country of origin marking appear in the most conspicuous place or any other specific location, and held merely that the title page or back of the title page of a book was one conspicuous location where the ultimate purchaser might be expected to look for country of origin information.

In HQ 734164, dated September 23, 1991, Customs clarified its position as taken in 731633, holding that the printing of country of origin information in locations other than the title page may also satisfy the conspicuousness requirement so long as the marking is easy to find. However, if the requirements of 19 C.F.R. ?134.46 are triggered by the presence of a place name other than the country of origin, the country of origin marking must be on the same side or surface of the book as the triggering language.

In HQ 731882, dated October 31, 1989, Customs discussed country of origin marking for children's books. Customs differentiated between children's literature and that marketed for adults, noting that children's books, which are designed to afford entertainment principally through pictures and text read aloud by an adult, may list copyright and publication information on the front or rear of a hard cardboard cover, or on the insides of the covers, rather than upon the title page, as is traditional in adult literature. Customs held that, where a children's book does not incorporate a conventional title page, country of origin marking located on the outside or inside of the cover of the book is conspicuous and will satisfy the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, provided that the lettering is easily located and can be read without strain. Additionally, Customs held that, on any page containing publication, copyright, or promotional information in which a reference to a country or locality other than the country of origin appears, 19 CFR 134.46 requires that the country of origin appear on the same page in comparably-sized lettering.

In the instant case, we note that, similar to the facts presented in HQ 731882, the copyright and publication information for the student handbook under consideration is not contained on a title page, but is, instead, printed on the inside front cover. Moreover, we note that this is the same location in which both Canadian and U.S. addresses are also printed accompanied by a sizeable amount of other information, displayed in a variety of type sizes and degrees of boldness. Therefore, consistent with our position taken above, country of origin information for the student handbook at issue may be appropriately located inside the front cover of the planner provided that the actual lettering of the origin information may be easily located on the page and may be read without strain. Inasmuch as the stricter marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are triggered by the presence of the non-origin geographical references, it must be in at least a comparable size to such other references and the name of the country of origin preceded by "Made in," "Product of," or other words of similar meaning. Pursuant to 19 CFR 134.43, the words "Assembled in" may only be used where the country of assembly is the country of origin of the imported article.

You propose to mark the subject handbook "Printed in Canada and U.S.A, Assembled in Canada." With regard to printed material, such as a book or student agenda, the phrase "Printed in" is an indicator of origin. Therefore use of both "Printed in" and "Assembled in"sets forth two conflicting origin statements, creating the probability of confusion on the part of the ultimate purchaser. Therefore, the proposed marking "Printed in Canada and U.S.A., Assembled in Canada" is unacceptable. However, in the alternative, Customs would accept, "Product of Canada," "Made in Canada" or "Assembled in Canada from U.S. paper."

Additionally, we note that, although the name and address of a school will be printed on the first page of the student agenda, we believe that no one will be confused regarding the origin of the student planner by this reference. In several rulings, Customs has indicated that geographic references appearing in connection with an imported article do not necessarily trigger the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. In HQ 732329, dated July 29, 1989, we ruled that an address on a warranty card did not pose a risk of confusion or deception to the ultimate purchaser. In other rulings, Customs determined that certain information provided to enable consumers to contact the company regarding complaints or questions about the product did not trigger the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. (See HQ 733840, dated February 1, 1991, where garment hang tags, which included a telephone number of the company and language which invited the consumer to contact the company for informational purposes, did not trigger the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46; see also HQ 733909, dated January 15, 1991, where a U.S. address of an environmental group was not misleading.) The basis of these rulings was that while the names and addresses, taken alone, would appear to be the kinds of potentially confusing information addressed by 19 CFR 134.46, their context was such that no confusion as to country of origin was conceivable. In our opinion, the address of a school presents this kind of circumstance. (We assume for the purposes of this ruling that the agendas are not distributed to the students, but are purchased by students themselves, for their own use; and therefore the students are ultimate purchasers of the student agenda.) The agendas will be purchased by students, who will understand their school address does not relate to the origin of the planner. Therefore, printing of the school address on the first page of the student agenda does not trigger the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46.

HOLDING:

Imported student agendas assembled in Canada from material printed in Canada and the U.S. on U.S.-origin paper are considered goods of Canada but may not be marked, "Printed in Canada and U.S.A., Assembled in Canada." However, in the alternative, Customs would accept, "Product of Canada," "Made in Canada" or "Assembled in Canada from U.S. paper."

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.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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See also:

• Tariff No.: 4802.52.10 - Writing paper, weighing 40 g/m2 to 150 g/m2, cont. n/o 10% by weight total fiber content obtained by mechanical process, in rolls or sheets
• Tariff No.: 4802.52.20 - Drawing paper, weighing 40 g/m2 to 150 g/m2, cont. n/o 10% by weight total fiber content obtained by mechanical process, rolls or sheets
• Tariff No.: 4820.10.20 - Diaries, notebooks and address books, bound; letter and memorandum pads and similar articles, of paper or paperboard
• Tariff No.: 4911.91.40 - Pictures, designs and photographs, excluding lithographs on paper or paperboard, printed not over 20 years at time of importation