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NY N026511

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May 6, 2008

MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N1:106

CATEGORY: MARKING

Mr. Jay T. Taylor
McDermott, Will & Emory
600 13th St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20005

RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF A COMMERCIAL JUICER.

Dear Mr. Taylor:

This is in response to your letter dated April 10, 2008 requesting a ruling on the country of origin marking requirements for commercial juicers which are assembled from U.S. and foreign components in Fontana, California. A marked sample was not submitted with your letter for review however component lists, assembly steps and a photo were submitted.

According to your request, parts and components from the United States, China and Canada are to be assembled in the California factory in order to produce a commercial juicer for sale in the US. Your list of parts shows that three components are of Chinese origin and three are from Canada. The unit costs of the foreign components are said to be 66% from China and 1% from Canada.

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.

The "country of origin" is defined in 19 CFR 134.1(b) as "the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Therefore, the imported components should be properly marked at the time of importation with their respective countries of origin in accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1304.

Concerning the marking of the assembled juicer, if a good is determined to be an article of U.S. origin, it is not subject to the country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. §1304. Whether an article may be marked with the phrase "Made in the USA" or similar words denoting U.S. origin, is an issue under the authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). We suggest that you contact the FTC Division of Enforcement, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580 on the propriety of proposed markings indicating that an article is made in the U.S.

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 Mark Palasek at 646-733-3013.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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