MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 733964 RSD
Harold Loring, Esq.
Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz & Silverman
12 East 49th Street
New York, New York 10017
RE: Country of origin marking of belts sold with pants; sets
Dear Mr. Loring:
This is in response to your letter dated November 28, 1990,
submitted on behalf of Lerner Stores Corporation, requesting a
ruling on the country of origin marking requirements for belts
imported and sold together with pants. Several sample pairs of
pants and the belts were submitted.
FACTS:
Lerner Stores Corporation imports belts and pants which are
imported and sold together at the retail level. The belts are
made of a vinyl plastic and pants are made of fabric. Although
on the samples received, the belts are fitted through the belt
loops on the pants, they are not coordinated in any other manner
with the pants, and could easily be worn with another garment.
It is alleged that the belts cost from 42 cents to 90 cents a
piece. No information regarding the cost of pants was provided.
The belts and pants are made in different countries.
ISSUE:
Do belts which are made of a different material than the
pants with which they are imported and sold and which are not
coordinated in any other manner with the pants have to be
separately marked to indicate their own country of origin?
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.
Congressional intent in enacting 19 U.S.C. 1304 was that the
ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the
marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is
the product. "The evident purpose is to mark the goods so thatat
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 at 302 (1940).
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.
The ultimate purchaser is generally the last person in the United
States who will receive the article in the form in which it was
imported. (Section 134.1 Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1)).
In HQ 729594, August 12, 1986, Customs ruled that belts made
of the same fabric and design as the dresses with which they were
imported and which were intended to be worn exclusively with the
dresses do not have to be separately marked with the country of
origin. Customs ruled in HQ 733089, May 30, 1990, that a scarf
and tie made from the same fabric and design as a blouse also do
not have to be separately marked with the country of origin. We
noted in that ruling that the tie and scarf which were imported
together from the same country with the blouse were intended to
be worn exclusively with the blouse. Accordingly, we stated that
the scarf and the tie lose their separate identity when they were
combined and sold with the blouse.
Counsel argues that based on these rulings the belts in
this case should not have to be separately marked. However,
those rulings are not controlling, because the facts of this case
differ from the facts involved in the prior rulings. The belts
and the pants in this case are made of a different material, and
they have a different design. Significantly, the belts are not
exclusively designed to be worn solely with the pants. The belts
can be removed from the pants and can be worn with other pants.
In addition, the belts and pants have different countries of
origin. While the belts may be inexpensive, their cost is not
negligible.
Counsel also contends that because the belts are
classifiable with the trousers for duty purposes, they should not
be required to be separately marked. The classification of pants
sold with the belts is determined by General Rules Interpretation
3(b) (GRI 3(b)) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States, (HTSUS) which governs the classification of mixtures,
composite good consisting of different material or components,
and goods put up in sets for retail sale. Recently in T.D. 91-7,
January 16, 1991, Customs indicated that the tariff treatment of
an article under the HTSUS generally has no effect on the country
of origin marking requirements under 19 U.S.C. 1304. GRI 3(b)
specifies only that sets, mixtures, and composite goods are
classified as if they consisted of the material or component that
imparts the essential character to the goods but does not specify
that sets, mixture, and composite goods are to be marked
according this standard. Accordingly, the classification of a
set of goods, such as a pair pants and a belt, is not
determinative of the country of origin marking requirements of
the materials or components which comprise the article. For
purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1304, the relevant inquiry regarding the
marking of the material or components in such a collection is
whether such items have been substantially transformed as result
of their inclusion in the set, mixture, or composite good.
In this case, the belts are not substantially transformed
when they are attached and sold together with a pair pants
because the belt remains a distinct article. Because the belts
and pants are made of a different materials, have a separate
design, can be worn with other pairs of pants, they do not lose
their separate identity. In essence because the belts are
separate articles from the pants, they must be marked with their
own country of origin.
HOLDING:
The sample vinyl plastic belts, which are imported and sold
together with pants made of fabric, and are not designed to be
worn exclusively with the pants are separate articles for country
of origin marking purposes and must be individually marked with
their country of origin.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division