MAR 2-05 CO:R:C:V 733259 LR
Ms. Martha L. Corgan
M&L International Co.
7700 Gross Point Road
Skokie, Ill. 60077
RE: Country of origin marking of garment with references thereon
to places other than the country of origin; 19 CFR 134.46.
Dear Ms. Corgan:
This is in response to your letter dated April 4, 1990,
concerning the country of origin marking requirements of a knit
top with references thereon to places other than the country of
origin.
FACTS:
A sample child's pullover knit top was submitted. It
contains four patches sewn on the front of the garment with the
words "St Moritz", "Tahiti", "Rome", and "Alaska". These patches
appear as part of the design of the garment. The garment is
marked "Made in Philippines" on a sewn-in textile label
permanently affixed to the back neck area below the brand name
label. A hangtag is affixed to the garment with the words
"Bonjour International" "Around the World". There are no names
of any localities on the hangtag.
ISSUE:
Whether a knit top which is made in the Philippines and has
as part of its design, four patches on the front which include
the name of localities other than the country of origin, requires
any marking other than the center neck label in order to satisfy
the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304.
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. Part 134, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin
marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. As
provided in section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR
134.41(b)), the country of origin marking is considered
conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is able to find
the marking easily and read it without strain.
Customs has recognized that the presence of a geographic
location other than the country in which the article was produced
on an imported article or its container may mislead the ultimate
purchaser as to the true country of origin. Thus, in cases
where the name of a location in the U.S. 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, section 134.46, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), provides that there shall appear,
legibly and permanently, in close proximity to such words the
name of the country of origin preceded by "Made in," "Product
of," or other words of similar meaning.
Customs has often distinguished those special cases in which
the circumstances were such that reference to a place other than
the country of origin on an imported article would not confuse
the ultimate purchaser as to the true country of origin. For
example, in HQ 723604, November 3, 1983, and HQ 712013, January
16, 1980, Customs held that use of the abbreviated "USA"
displayed on imported women's wearing apparel did not trigger the
requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 because such marking was used as a
symbol or decoration and would not reasonably be construed as
indicating the country of origin of the article on which it
appeared. In HQ 732412, August 29, 1989, Customs found that the
placement of the word "Kansas" on different parts of imported
jeans are built into the garments' design and they would not
mislead or deceive the ultimate purchaser or in any way connote
that "Kansas" is the place of manufacture.
In contrast, a locality other than the country of origin is
morely likely to cause confusion where it appears on a hangtag
attached to a garment. This is because a hangtag is designed to
attract the attention of the purchaser and generally contains
information about the article to which it is attached. As such,
a reference on the hangtag to a locality other than the country
of origin of the article to which it is attached is potentially
misleading with regard to the garment's country of origin. Thus,
in HQ 731032, September 6, 1988, Customs determined that a
hangtag bearing a U.S. reference attached to an imported handbag
had to be marked to indicate the country of origin of the handbag
even though the handbag was marked by means of a sewn-in-label
inside. See also HQ 732486, September 5, 1989 (use of phrase
"Riviera Line" on a hangtag attached to imported garments
triggers the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46).
In this case, although the patches on the front of the
garment include the names of localities other than the country of
origin, we conclude that they would not cause any confusion
regarding the origin of the product. We note that they are
included as decoration on the garment and are an integral part of
its design. As such, the ultimate purchaser would view these
patches solely as a part of the design of the garment and not as
an indicator of origin. Thus, we find that the requirements of
19 CFR 134.46 are not applicable. The requirements of 19 U.S.C.
1304 are satisfied so long as the garment is marked permanently,
legibly and conspicuously.
HOLDING:
Patches on the submitted sample knit top which contains
place names other than the country of origin of the top do not
trigger the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. The garment, which is
conspicuously marked in the center of the neck by means of a
sewn-in fabric label satisfies the requirements of 19 U.S.C.
1304.
Sincerely,
Marvin M. Amernick
Chief, Value, Special Programs
and Admissibility Branch