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NY B88097

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August 25, 1997

MAR-2 RR:NC:WA:357 B88097

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. John N. Politis
Politis & Politis
865 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90017

RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED WEARING APPAREL

Dear Mr. Politis:

This is in response to your letter dated July 28, 1997, on behalf of Paul Davril, Inc., addressed to our Headquarters office in Washington, requesting a ruling on the sufficiency of the proposed marking, "Made in Hong Kong," on a sewn-in label where another marking, "Invest in an American Tradition," appears on a hang tag. A marked sample was submitted with your letter for review.

The imported merchandise will consist of various articles of apparel, including trousers and upper body garments, which you state will be correctly marked with the country of origin. The submitted sample has a fabric label with the country of origin sewn into the neck. Hanging from this label by means of a plastic anchor is a cardboard tag which has various wording that includes the brand name "Guess?" and the legend "Invest in an American Tradition" in block letters on a contrasting color background. The lettering of this legend is in comparable size to the country of origin marking on the sewn-in neck label.

The marking statute, section 304, 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 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.

Section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), requires that in any case in which the words "United States," or "American," the letters "U.S.A.," any variation of such words or letters, or the name of any city or locality in the United States, or the name of any foreign country or locality other than the country or locality in which the article was manufactured or produced, appears 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.

The proposed marking of imported garments, as described above, satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134 in both terms of proximity and size and is an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported garments. We note, however, that the sewn-in label for this sample garment is off-center. It should be located in the center of the neck midway between the shoulder seams, which is generally the required placement for labels on upper body garments.

We also note that the RN number is on the back of this label. 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. Questions concerning fiber content labelling requirements are covered under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act. 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 satisfies such requirements.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 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 W. Raftery at 212-466-5851.

Sincerely,

Paul K. Schwartz
Chief, Textiles and Apparel Branch

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