NY R00789 - COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED HOSIERY - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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NY R00789

September 21, 2004

MAR-2 RR:NC:3:353 R00789

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. James Robert Francis
Skyline Hosiery, LLC
1212 Dolton Drive
Suite 301
Dallas, TX 75207

RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED HOSIERY

Dear Mr. Francis:

This is in response to your letter dated September 2, 2004 requesting a ruling on whether it is acceptable to mark the container in which imported hosiery is repackaged in the U.S. with the country of origin in lieu of marking the article itself when no other markings appear on the article itself. A photograph of the marked sample container was submitted with your letter for review.

You are planning to import ladies sheer hosiery in bulk to be packaged using a patented process and labeled with the country of origin after it arrives in your Dallas, Texas facility. The hosiery will be imported without a sewn-in country of origin label and will be packed into a rectangular-shaped tube. The tube will be labeled with all required information. The product package containing the hosiery will be delivered for retail sale and will remain intact until the ultimate purchaser buys it.

You request permission to import the hosiery in sealed poly-bags. The bags and shipping containers will be marked with the country of origin.

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. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), mandates that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. must be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. Section 134.1(d), defines the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. If an imported article is to be sold at retail in its imported form, the purchaser at retail is the ultimate purchaser. In this case, the ultimate purchaser of the hosiery is the consumer who purchases the product at retail.

An article is excepted from marking under 19 U.S.C. 1304 (a)(3)(D) and section 134.32(d), Customs regulations (19 CFR 134.32(d)), if the marking of a container of such article will reasonably indicate the origin of such article. However, since the hosiery is not imported in its marked retail container, whether the subject articles are excepted from individual marking under 19 CFR 134.32(d) is for the port director to decide. In this regard section 134.34, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.34), provides that an exception may be authorized at the discretion of the port director under 19 CFR 134.32(d) for imported articles which are to be repacked after release from Customs custody under the following conditions: (1) The containers in which the articles are repacked will indicate the origin of the articles to an ultimate purchaser in the U.S.; (2) The importer arranges for supervision of the marking of the containers by Customs officers at the importer's expense or secures such verification, as may be necessary, by certification and the submission of a sample or otherwise, of the marking prior to the liquidation of the entry.

Please note that on one side of the container in which the hosiery will be packaged there is the statement “Distributed by Skyline Hosiery, Dallas, Texas” at the edge of the container in white letters on a dark background. On the same side of the container at a ninety-degree angle is the statement “Made in China.” Section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), deals with cases 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, and those words, letters or names may mislead or deceive the ultimate purchaser as to the actual country of origin. In such a case, 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 purpose of this requirement is to prevent the possibility of misleading or deceiving the ultimate purchaser of an article as to the actual origin of the imported good. In this case the US location and the country of origin marking are legible, permanent, in close proximity and of comparable size and are acceptable marking.

In this case, assuming that the port director is satisfied that the imported hosiery will be repacked in the manner described above, and that the other conditions set forth in 19 CFR 134.34 are met, the port director may authorize an exception under 19 CFR 134.32(d), in which case marking of the imported hosiery will not be required.

Please note that separate Federal Trade Commission marking requirements exist regarding country of origin, fiber content, and other information that must appear on many textile items. You should contact the Federal Trade Commission, Division of Enforcement, 6th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20580, for information on the applicability of these requirements to this item.

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 Kenneth Reidlinger at 646-733-3053.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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