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NY B88345




September 5, 1997

MAR-2 RR:NC:1: 112 B88345

CATEGORY: MARKING

Ms. Julie L. Willard
Allyn International Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 60577
Ft. Myers, FL 33906-6577

RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF AN ELECTRICAL CABLE ASSEMBLY

Dear Ms. Willard:

This is in response to your letter dated August 1, 1997, on behalf of Iomega Corporation, requesting a ruling on whether the proposed marking is an acceptable country of origin marking for an imported electrical cable assembly. A marked sample was submitted with your letter for review.

As indicated by the submitted sample, the electrical cable assembly is a parallel port cable consisting of an insulated electrical cable with input/output connectors attached at each end of the cable. The country of origin marking is located around the rim of the connectors at the junction where the insulated cable and the connectors meet. According to your letter, these cables with connectors will be sold as an accessory in the finished retail package with the drive and other items such as a disc or tape, software, and a power supply. The retail box would be marked with the appropriate country of origin of the drive which is also foreign.

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.

As provided in section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), the country of origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain.

The proposed marking of the imported electrical cable assembly, as described above, is not conspicuous marking which satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134, and is not an acceptable country of origin marking. In order to be considered conspicuous, the country or origin marking should be located on the flat surface of the input/output connectors. Alternatively, marking of a retail package with the country of origin would be acceptable provided that the cable assembly is separately packaged.

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 David Curran at 212-466-5680.

Sincerely,

Robert Swierupski
Chief, Metals and Machinery Branch

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