MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 733795 EAB
Bruce D. Roberts
Miami International Forwarders
1573 N.W. 82 Avenue
Miami, Florida 33152-3730
Re: Country of origin marking of garment with references and
symbols thereon to places other than the country of origin.
shirt; trousers; IA 855266; 19 U.S.C. 1304; 19 CFR 134.41;
19 CFR 134.46; 712013; 723604; 729096; 732412; 733259
Dear Mr. Roberts:
This is in reply to your request for a binding ruling, on
behalf of Spencer Industries, Inc., concerning the country of
origin marking of tops and pants on which appear prints showing
the American flag or the Statue of Liberty.
FACTS:
No sample has been submitted; however, attached to your
submission is literature showing the proposed use of the "USA
Flag" and "Statue of Liberty" themes, apparently as an integral
part of the design concept of the attire. You have stated that
the tops will be marked with the country of origin by use of a
sewn-in textile label permanently affixed in the nape of the
neck. The pants will have a sewn fabric label on the waistband
indicating their country of origin.
You believe that the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are not
applicable in this case because the design themes will not be
misleading to the ultimate purchaser, since neither theme will
indicate the country of origin of the article of which it is a
part, and, if the garments are marked with fabric labels as
indicated, the country of origin will be evident to the ultimate
purchaser in the U.S.
For the purposes of this ruling, we are assuming that the
"USA Flag" and "Statue of Liberty" appear as integral parts of
the design of the garment, and that there are no references to
places other than the country of origin on any label/s or
hangtag/s, or containers.
ISSUE:
Whether a wearing apparel top conspicuously labelled in the
neck, and pants conspicuously labelled in the waistband, and each
garment having as an integral part of its design the U.S. flag
and/or the Statue of Liberty, must be otherwise marked to
indicate the country of origin of the article.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C.
1304), provides that articles of foreign origin imported into the
U.S. must be legibly, conspicuously and permanently marked to
indicate the country of origin to the ultimate purchaser in the
U.S. As provided in 19 CFR 134.41, the marking is considered
conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser 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 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, 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. Although 19 CFR
134.46 does not specifically address the situation where symbols
associated with a country other than the country of origin appear
on the imported articles, Customs has ruled that the presence of
such symbols may be taken into account in determining whether the
country of origin is conspicuous, HQ 729096 (January 1, 1986).
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 country of origin. For example,
in HQ 723604 (November 3, 1983) and HQ 712013 (January 16, 1980),
Customs held that the 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 was a part of
the design of the garment, would not in any way connote that
Kansas was the place of manufacture, and, therefore, would not
mislead or deceive the ultimate purchaser. More recently, in HQ
733259 (August 3, 1990), Customs found that four patches
respectively indicating "St. Moritz", "Tahiti", "Rome" and
"Alaska" sewn onto the front of a child's pullover knit top were
an integral part of the design of the garment and not indicators
of the origin of the garment; since the top was conspicuously
marked in the center of the neck by means of a sewn-in fabric
label that satisfied the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, the
requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 were not triggered.
In this case, we find that the requirements of 19 U.S.C.
1304 would be satisfied if each garment is labelled in fact as
the broker has averred. Consistent with and based upon the
previous rulings abstracted herein, we find that when the U.S.
flag and Statue of Liberty are used as integral parts of the
design of the tops and pants they are not indicators of the
country of origin of either garment; therefore, the requirements
of 19 CFR 134.46 are not applicable.
HOLDING:
Where the U.S. flag and/or the Statue of Liberty are used as
an integral part of the design of a garment, they are not
indicators of the country of origin of the garment.
In the particular case of a top (shirt or blouse), so long
as the country of origin is indicated by a fabric label that is
sewn into the neck of the garment and otherwise satisfies the
requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46
are not applicable, and no other country of origin marking of the
garment is required.
In the particular case of trousers, so long as the country
of origin is indicated by a fabric label that is sewn into the
waistband of the garment and otherwise satisfies the requirements
of 19 U.S.C. 1304, the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 are not
applicable, and no other country of origin marking of the
garment is required.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division
CC: Director, CIE (I/A 855266)