HQ 562613 - Country of origin marking requirements applicable to imported leather belts; 19 CFR 134.46; “hand made and sewn in” - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 562613

March 18, 2003

MAR-05 RR:CR:SM 562613 KKV

CATEGORY: MARKING

Ms. Brenda Chronister
Phoenix International Freight Services, Ltd. 4659 World Parkway Circle
St. Louis, MO 63134

RE: Country of origin marking requirements applicable to imported leather belts; 19 CFR 134.46; “hand made and sewn in”

Dear Ms. Chronister:

This is in response to your letter dated December 20, 2002, on behalf of your client, Aquarius, Ltd., in connection with the country of origin marking of imported leather belts.

FACTS:

You state that your client will be importing into the U.S. leather belts measuring 25mm, 30mm and 32mm in length. We are informed that the belts will be manufactured from leather of Italian origin which is cut to length, sewn and finished in China. No detailed information or description of the processing operations performed has been provided; therefore, for purposes of this ruling, we assume that the country of origin of the finished belts is China. Aquarius proposes to permanently mark the belts by hot printing the following statement in the underside of the belt:
hand made and sewn in ancient china. fine italian hand stained and hand finished embossed calf skins made with revolutionary constructionwear in good health

ISSUE:

Whether the proposed marking satisfies the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the United States 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 United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. By enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304, Congress intended to ensure that the ultimate purchaser would be able to know by inspecting the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods are 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, 302 C.A.D. 104 (1940).

Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Under section 134.41(b), Customs regulations, the country of origin is considered to be conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the United States is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. While the submitted sample of the proposed marking satisfies the general requirements for permanency, legibility and conspicuousness, the particular language utilized necessitates a discussion of the special marking requirements set forth in section 134.36 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46).

Specifically, 19 CFR 134.46 requires that, in instances where the name of any city or locality in the U.S., or the name of any foreign country or locality other than the name of the country or locality in which the article was manufactured or produced, appears on an imported article or its container, and those words or name may mislead or deceive the ultimate purchaser as to the actual country of origin of the article, 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. Customs has ruled that in order to satisfy the close proximity requirement, the country of origin marking must appear on the same side(s) or surface(s) in which the name of the locality other than the country of origin appears (See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 708994, dated April 24, 1978). The more restrictive requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are designed to alleviate the possibility of any misleading of an ultimate purchaser with regard to the country of origin of an imported article, if such article or its container includes language which may suggest a U.S. origin (or other foreign locality not the correct country of origin).

With regard to 19 CFR 134.46, in Customs Service Decision (C.S.D.) 90-31, dated December 20, 1989, Customs held that under certain conditions, geographic names appearing in connection with imported articles do not necessarily trigger the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 if the context in which the names are used is such that confusion by the ultimate purchaser regarding country of origin is unlikely. In that decision, Customs cited to several rulings including HRL 732329, dated July 12, 1989, (address on a warranty card did not pose a risk of confusion to ultimate purchasers) and HRL 732816, dated November 24, 1989, (address printed on display ticket was provided to assist customer in the event of questions concerning guarantees) where it was decided that the context in which the names and addresses were used was such that confusion regarding country of origin was not conceivable.

With regard to the proposed marking in this case, because the adjectival non-origin reference to a country other than the country of origin is not accompanied by warranty information, or as a point of contact for customer service concerns or similar context, but appears in conjunction with words descriptive of processing operations, the reference is in a context more likely to create confusion as to the origin of the product, triggering the applicability of the special marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. In the sample submitted for our examination, the country of origin, (“china”) appears in close proximity to the non-origin reference (“italian”) and is printed in letters of comparable size. Although the country of origin is preceded by words “hand made and sewn in” rather than “Made in” or “Product of” as suggested by section 134.46, we find that it properly indicates the country of origin of the imported belts and constitutes an acceptable marking of country of origin for purposes of 19 CFR 134.46 and 19 U.S.C. 1304.

HOLDING:

Where a non-origin adjectival reference to a country other than the country of origin appears in conjunction with words descriptive of processing, in such a manner that the reference is likely to create confusion as to the origin of the product, the special marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are triggered. However, the proposed marking, in which the country of origin is preceded by the words “hand made and sewn in,” properly indicates the country of origin and constitutes an acceptable marking for purposes of 19 CFR 134.46 and 19 U.S.C. 1304.

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.

Sincerely,

Myles B. Harmon

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