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NY A89541





December 6, 1996

MAR-2-40:RR:NC:WA:354 A89541

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Marc Hurlbert
Import Traders, Inc.
333 Southwestern Boulevard
Suite 202
Sugar Land, Texas 77478

RE: The marking of non-medical use latex gloves from China.

Dear Mr. Hurlbert:

In your letter dated November 5, 1996, you requested a country of origin marking ruling.

You submitted samples of a latex glove which you have indicated will be imported into the United States to be repacked in a retail box with other hair care products which are products of the United States. According to your submission,the latex gloves will be used by the consumer when handling the American made hair care products according to an enclosed instruction sheet. Your inquiry concerns the marking requirements of the glove.

Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the United States 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 an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article.

Section 134.32, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.32), lists various exceptions to the requirement that articles be individually marked. Pertinent to this discussion are { 134.32 (c) and (o)} which exempt articles that cannot be marked either prior to or after importation because the expense would be economically prohibitive and { 134.32(d)} which exempts articles for which the marking of the containers will reasonably indicate the origin of the articles.

With regard to imported articles intended to be repacked in retail containers after release from Customs custody, { 134.26, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.26), provides that the importer must certify to the port director that: (1) if the importer does the repacking, he shall not obscure any existing country of origin marking, or if the articles are not marked, the new containers shall be marked to indicate the origin of the articles; or (2) if the article is to be sold or transferred to a subsequent purchaser or repacker, the importer shall notify that party in writing at the time of sale or transfer that any repacking of the article must comply with country of origin marking requirements.

Based on the situation you have described it would appear that the gloves are eligible for an exception to individual marking under { 134.32(d)} provided the outer containers are properly marked as to country of origin. If the gloves will reach ultimate purchasers in the United States in these original containers, or if lots which are repacked are marked as described in (134.26), the marking on the outer containers will satisfy country of origin marking purposes.

The gloves are not eligible for an exception to individual marking based on prohibitive economic expense. However, proper country of origin marking on the outer container of lots of gloves reaching the ultimate purchaser in the United States will satisfy the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304.

The subject latex glove is indistinguishable from an examination glove used in the healthcare industry. As such the applicable subheading for the glove will be 4015.11.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for Articles of apparel and clothing accessories (including gloves), for all purposes, of vulcanized rubber other than hard rubber: gloves: surgical and medical. The duty rate will be 2.2 percent ad valorem.

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

A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Brian Burtnik at 212-466-5880.

Sincerely,

Roger J. Silvestri
Director

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