MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 735568 AT
Chia-sheng Pan, Director
Coordination Council For North American Affairs
Economic Division
4301 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Suite 420
Washington, D.C. 20008-2387
RE: Country of origin marking for imported wearing apparel;
"Cut in" or "Fabric Made & Cut in" in lieu of "Made in";
words of similar meaning; clearly indicate; 19 CFR 134.46
Dear Mr. Pan:
This is in response to your letters dated March 22 and May
10, 1994, concerning the acceptability of proposed country of
origin markings for imported men's golf and polo shirts.
FACTS:
The shirts will be processed in two countries, Taiwan and
China. In Taiwan, Taiwanese fabric will be cut into the requisite
garment panels for assembly. The cut panels are then shipped to
China to be assembled into the finished garment. You state that
it is your belief that the country of origin of the finished shirts
is Taiwan based on Customs ruling HQ 952531 (November 25, 1992).
You also state that marking appears on the finished shirt
indicating an origin other than Taiwan triggering the special
marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. Assuming that the country
of origin of the finished shirts is Taiwan and the special marking
requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are triggered, you have requested
Customs to determine whether it would be acceptable to mark the
finished shirts by any of the three following ways:
1. Made in Taiwan, Assembled in China; or
2. Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China; or
3. Fabric Made & Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China
ISSUE:
Do the proposed country of origin markings, as stated above,
satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part
134.46?
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 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.
With regard to the requirement to indicate the country of
origin, the Court of Customs Appeals has stated:
Obviously, the purpose of section 304, which goes
into great detail as to how the marking shall be
done, was to require a marking such as would be
understood by purchasers of foreign-made goods as
giving definite and reliable information as to the
country of origin. It is not reasonable to suppose
that Congress, by the use of the word "indicate"
meant only that the words used should hint at the
country of origin. The object sought to be obtain-
ed by the legislature could best be obtained by an
indication which was clear, plain, an unambiguous
and which did more than merely hint at the country
of origin (original emphasis added).
American Burtonizing Co. v. United States, 13 Ct. Cust. Appls. 652,
T.D. 41489 (1926).
Section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), requires
that in any case 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, 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 section is
to prevent the possibility of misleading or deceiving the
ultimate purchaser as to the actual origin of the imported goods.
In this case, in order to comply with the special marking
requirements set forth in section 134.46 the country of origin of
the shirts (assumed to be Taiwan for purposes of this ruling) must
be preceded by the words "Made in", "Product of," or other words
of similar meaning. Also, the proposed origin markings must
clearly indicate to the ultimate purchaser that the article's
country of origin is Taiwan.
The proposed marking "Made in Taiwan, Assembled in China"
satisfies the special marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. The
country of origin "Taiwan" is preceded by the words "Made in" as
required by 19 CFR 134.46. Also, the proposed marking clearly
indicates that the country of origin of the shirt is Taiwan. The
additional language "Assembled in China" would not confuse an
ultimate purchaser into believing that the article is of Chinese
origin but would be determined as an indication that some further
processing was performed in China to the finished article.
Therefore, we find that this marking satisfies the requirements of
19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.46.
However, we find that the proposed markings "Cut in Taiwan,
Assembled in China" and "Fabric Made & Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in
China" do not satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304
and 19 CFR 134.46. In our opinion the words "Cut in" and "Fabric
Made & Cut in" are not other words of similar meaning to "Made in"
and "Product of," as required by 19 CFR 134.46. Also, the words
"Cut in" and "Fabric Made & Cut in" do not clearly indicate that
the country of origin of the article is Taiwan. In our opinion,
an ultimate purchaser reading these markings could only determine
that the finished shirt was processed in Taiwan and China, but
could not determine the actual country of origin of the shirt as
required by 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.46. Therefore, the
proposed markings "Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China" and "Fabric
Made and Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China" are not acceptable
country of origin markings for the imported shirts.
It should be noted that textile fiber products imported into
the U.S. must be labeled in accordance with the Textile Fiber
Products Identification Act (15 U.S.C. 70 through 70k) and the
rules promulgated thereunder by the Federal Trade Commission.
Fiber content labelling is covered under the Textile Fiber Products
Identification Act. Therefore, we suggest that you contact the
Federal Trade Commission, Division of Enforcement, 6th and
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20508, as to whether
the proposed marking for the imported garments satisfies such
requirements.
HOLDING:
The proposed marking "Made in Taiwan, Assembled in China"
satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR
134.46, and is an acceptable country of origin marking for imported
men's golf and polo shirts provided the country of origin of the
shirt is Taiwan.
The proposed markings "Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China" and
"Fabric Made & Cut in Taiwan, Assembled in China" do not satisfy
the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.46, and
therefore are not acceptable country of origin markings for the
imported shirts.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division