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NY C80624





November 21, 1997

MAR-2 RR:NC:SP:221 C80624

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Tim A. Woods
Pigalle
988 Market Street, #708
San Francisco, CA 94108

RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED ERASERS; ARTICLE 509

Dear Mr. Woods:

This is in response to your letter dated October 21, 1997, requesting a ruling on whether the proposed marking of an eraser set is an acceptable country of origin marking if another marking appears on the article which is a country or locality other than the actual country of origin of the article. A marked sample was submitted with your letter for review. The set of three erasers is packed in a cardboard box. Two of the erasers, the soap eraser and pink eraser, are marked "Fabrique au Mexique." The gum eraser is marked "Fabrique aux Etats-Unis." The erasers are wrapped with a tissue with a pressure sensitive seal. The tissue obscures the marking on the erasers, and cannot be opened without breaking the seal. The top of the box is marked, "Pigalle, San Francisco." The country of origin of the erasers is indicated on a side panel of the box.

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. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304.

The country of origin marking requirements for a "good of a NAFTA country" are also determined in accordance with Annex 311 of the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA"), as implemented by section 207 of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat 2057) (December 8, 1993) and the appropriate Customs Regulations. The Marking Rules used for determining whether a good is a good of a NAFTA country are contained in Part 102, Customs Regulations. The marking requirements of these goods are set forth in Part 134, Customs Regulations.

Section 134.45(a)(2) of the regulations 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 134.1(g) of the regulations 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.

Section 102.11, Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. ?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.

You have not submitted sufficient information for us to determine the country of origin of the erasers which you claim to be products of Mexico. If the soap eraser and pink eraser are goods of Mexico, then according to Section 134.45 (a)(2) of the regulations, marking of the country of origin in French is acceptable. If the gum eraser is a product of the United States, than marking of the country of origin on this product is not necessary.

With regard to the marking of the box with the words "San Francisco," 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.

In order to satisfy the close proximity requirement, the country of origin marking must generally appear on the same side(s) or surface(s) in which the name or locality other than the actual country of origin appears. This office does not consider the sticker with the country of origin of the erasers, placed on the side of the box, rather than on the top of the box where the domestic location appears, to be in close proximity.

The proposed marking of the imported eraser set, as described above, does not satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134 and is not an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported erasers.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 181).

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 Joan Mazzola at 212-466-5580.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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