NY E82772 - THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF GIRLS SHORTS SET AND HEADBAND - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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June 2, 1999

MAR-2 62:RR:NC:TA:3:358 E82772

CATEGORY: MARKING

Ms. Margarita Su
Kahn Lucas Lancaster
100 West 33rd Street Suite 921
New York, NY 10001

RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF GIRLS SHORTS SET AND HEADBAND

Dear Ms. Su:

This is in response to your letter dated May 24, 1999 requesting a ruling on whether the proposed marking of a girls apparel set consisting of a shirt, a pair of shorts and a headband is acceptable country of origin marking for this imported merchandise. A marked sample was submitted with your letter for review.

The submitted merchandise, which does not have a style number, consists of three articles, a shirt, a pair of shorts and a headband. The shirt is a short sleeve swing top with keyhole back and peplum bottom. The garment body, with the exception of the peplum, is picot knit fabric. The peplum is printed woven fabric. A large applique and embroidery of the Sesame Street character Big Bird is prominently displayed at the garment front. The short is made of the same woven fabric as the shirt peplum. The shorts feature a fully elasticized waist. The fabric covered elasticized headband is made of the same knit fabric as the shirt and features a bow, which is made of the woven fabric found on the shirt peplum and the shorts.

The shirt, shorts and headband are sold together at retail on a plastic hanger. The headband is sealed in a clear plastic bag, which is swift tacked to one shirtsleeve. The shorts set itself is displayed at retail in a clear plastic bag.

The shirt has a sewn-in fabric label at the inside rear neckline, which includes the country of origin, fabric contents and the name of the importer or RN number. The shorts have the same type fabric label sewn to the rear inside shorts waistband. The headband does not contain a sewn-in fabric label. Does the headband require a similar fabric 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.

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.

Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the U.S. 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 the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. §1304 was that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is 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 at 302 (1940).

Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR134.41(b)), mandates that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. must be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. The ultimate purchaser is generally the last person in the United States who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. (Section 134.1 Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. §134.1)).

In T.D. 91-7, January 16, 1991, Customs indicated that for purposes of 19 U.S.C. §1304, the relevant inquiry regarding the marking of the material or components in a collection, such as shorts and a belt, is whether such items have been substantially transformed as result of their inclusion in the set, mixture, or composite good. However, we also indicated in T.D. 91-7 that in certain circumstances the marking of every item in a collection of goods may not be consistent with the purpose of the marking statute, or may be impractical and/or undesirable. This may be because one or more items in the collection are relatively insignificant and would have no influence on the purchasing decision, because the items in the collection are too numerous making it impractical to specify the country of origin of each item, or for various other reasons. Therefore, Customs will continue to employ a "common sense" approach to determine the marking requirements applicable to articles, which comprise a collection of goods.

The proposed marking of the imported shirt and shorts, as described above, is conspicuously, legibly and permanently marked in satisfaction of the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134 and is an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported shorts set. Due to its relative insignificant stature within the apparel collection, it is not necessary to individually mark the self- fabric headband.

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 Bruce Kirschner at 212-637-7079.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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