MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 734702 KR
Mr. John B. Pellegrini
Ross & Hardies
529 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10017-4608
RE: Country of Origin Marking of Shoe Boxes; 19 CFR 134.46.
Dear Mr. Pellegrini:
This is in response to your letter dated June 25, 1992, on
behalf of the Rockport Company requesting a ruling concerning the
proper country of origin marking on Rockport shoe boxes. The
boxes are manufactured in the U.S., but contain shoes that are
imported. A sample of a shoe box and a sample of the labels
indicating the size and country of origin marking for the shoes
were submitted for examination.
FACTS:
The cardboard shoe box consists of a top and bottom. The
company's registered name, "Rockport", appears on the top of the
box. On the outside of the end flaps of the top of the box the
name, "Rockport", also appears.
The bottom portion of the shoe box is printed on the two
sides with "Rockports make you feel like walkingTM". By letter
dated October 30, 1992, you advised us that as of July 10, 1992,
the shoe boxes, unlike the submitted samples, no longer have
"Shoe Carton Corporation U.S.A." printed anywhere on the box.
Therefore, this ruling will not apply to a shoe box containing
the printing "Shoe Carton Corporation U.S.A."
You also submitted a sample of the product code sticker
which will be attached to the outside of the shoe box. This
sticker contains a UPC bar code, below this the country of origin
marking "Made in PORTUGAL", the stock number, color, and the
sizes of the shoe. The shoe sizes on the sticker are printed in
USA, UK and EUR sizes as:
USA 10 1/2
UK 10
EUR 44 1/2
This ruling request concerns the required marking of the
boxes containing imported shoes. It is assumed that the shoes
themselves are marked in conformity with Customs requirements.
ISSUE:
Whether the proposed marking on the shoe box described above
satisfies the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, 19 CFR 134.46,
and 19 CFR 134.47.
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. 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.
In addition 19 CFR 134.46, requires that when the name of any
city or locality in the U.S., or the name of any foreign country
or locality other than the name of 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. Customs has ruled that in order to satisfy the
close proximity requirement, the country of origin marking must
appear on the same side(s) or surface(s) in which the name of the
locality other than the country of origin appears. HQ 708994
(April 24, 1978). The purpose of 19 CFR 134.46 is to prevent
the possibility of misleading or deceiving the ultimate purchaser
as to the origin of the imported article. Shoe boxes, in
particular, are held to a strict standard of compliance to the
country of origin marking requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. T.D.
86-129 (June 26, 1986). See C.S.D. 90-31 (December 20, 1989);
see also HQ 731372 (June 24, 1988).
In this ruling request, the product sticker to be attached
to the shoe box in listing the shoe sizes contains the references
USA, EUR and UK. Next to these references the product sticker is
printed "Made In PORTUGAL" in comparable size print. This
satisfies the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46.
Customs Regulations 19 CFR 134.47, requires a slightly less
restrictive marking than 134.46 when the location name other
than the country of origin appears as part of a trademark. Under
134.47, when the name of a place other than the country of
origin appears as part of a trademark or trade name or as part of
a souvenir marking, the name of the actual country of origin must
appear in close proximity to the place "or in some other
conspicuous location". In other words, if the question concerns
a trade name or trademark, the country of origin marking needs
only to meet the general standard of conspicuousness. Under
either 134.46 or 134.47, the name of the country of origin must
be preceded by "Made in", "Product of", or words of similar
meaning. See HQ 734175 (February 24, 1992); HQ 734277 (December
24, 1991).
The shoe box in several places is printed with the company
name, "Rockport". This name is a registered trademark.
"Rockport" is also a U.S. geographic location other than the
country of origin of the shoes. Therefore, the requirements of
19 CFR 134.47 apply. Pursuant to the more lenient requirements
of 19 CFR 134.47, the country of origin need only be printed in
a conspicuous location, and the print need not be of comparable
size to the print of "Rockport". We find that the country of
origin printed on the product sticker will be in a conspicuous
place, and is sufficient to meet the requirements of 19 CFR
134.47.
HOLDING:
The country of origin marking appearing on the product
sticker of the shoe box is sufficient to meet the requirements of
19 U.S.C. 1304, 19 CFR 134.46 and 19 CFR 134.47. This ruling
does not apply to any boxes containing the carton manufacturer's
marking, "Shoe Carton Corporation U.S.A."
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director