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NY L82446




February 17, 2005

MAR-2-49:RR:NC:SP:234 L82446

CATEGORY: MARKING

TARIFF NO.: 4911.91.4040

Mr. Larry Stone
Art In Motion LP
2000 Brigantine Drive
Coquitlam, British Columbia
Canada V3K 7B7

RE: The tariff classification and country of origin marking of printed pictures on canvas, from China

Dear Mr. Stone:

In your letter dated February 4, 2005, you requested a tariff classification and marking ruling.

You describe your firm as a publisher of offset lithographic prints, i.e., printed reproductions of original paintings. You outline a scenario in which you will be shipping your images on a master CD to a factory in China. The Chinese factory will utilize these images to produce lithographic prints on canvas, then frame them and finally export the framed prints to the United States. As you state, all of the physical components comprising the finished products entering the U.S. will be of Chinese origin.

A sample representing a finished print as it would be imported into the U.S. was submitted for our examination. It is a 9” x 12½” canvas printed with a reproduction of a painting that depicts a woman’s high-heeled shoe. The picture incorporates a caption that reads “Stiletto.” The canvas has been mounted, using numerous staples, on a wooden stretcher. The latter is a kind of “internal” or hidden type of frame that would allow the article to be hung without the necessity for a conventional external frame. The submitted sample is not marked to indicate its country of origin.

You ask for our determination of the proper tariff classification/duty rate for the finished prints, as imported into the United States from China. You also seek a decision as to the country-of-origin marking requirements applicable to these products.

The applicable subheading for the imported prints on canvas, mounted on stretchers or frames, will be 4911.91.4040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other (than certain enumerated) printed pictures, designs and photographs. The rate of duty will be Free.

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.

Thus, in accordance with the above statute, the imported prints must be marked to indicate that China is their country of origin. The wording you propose, “Made in China,” will be acceptable for this purpose.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 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 Carl Abramowitz at 646-733-3037.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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