MAR-2-05 RR:TC:SM 559849 MLR
Mr. Bruce Berhow
General Manager
Malco Products, Inc.
14080 State Hwy. 55 NW
Annandale, MN 55302-0400
RE: Country of origin marking for sheet metal screws;
Japan; Taiwan; repacking
Dear Mr. Berhow:
This is in reference to your letter of May 7, 1996,
requesting a ruling concerning the country of origin marking
requirements for sheet metal screws imported from Japan and
Taiwan.
FACTS:
You indicate that Malco will import sheet metal screws
of the same part number and performance specifications from
Japan and Taiwan. Initially, only 25 percent of the screws
will be imported from Taiwan, but this percentage could
increase to between 50-75 percent. The screws will be
stored according to their part number rather than their
country of origin. Some of the screws will be repackaged
into smaller packages for resale to your customers and you
wish to mark the container "Made in Japan or Taiwan".
ISSUE:
What is the proper country of origin marking of the
imported sheet metal screws.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930,
as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted,
every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported
into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as
legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the
article (or its 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 that at 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. Inc., 27 CCPA 297, 302, C.A.D. 104
(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 134.33, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR 134.33), excepts certain articles from
individual country of origin marking in accordance with 19
U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(J) and only requires that the outermost
container in which the article ordinarily reaches the
ultimate purchaser be marked with the country of origin.
Screws are listed as one of the articles entitled to this
exception.
Generally, Customs policy is that absent other
circumstances, it is not acceptable for purposes of 19
U.S.C. 1304 to mark an article in the disjunctive, e.g.,
"Product of ____ or ____". However, in C.S.D. 84-56
(December 12, 1983), Customs allowed an exception to the
rule not allowing marking in the disjunctive. In C.S.D.
84-56, Customs allowed industrial fasteners (i.e., screws,
nuts, bolts and washers) to be marked "from one or more of
the following countries...." to indicate the country of
origin of fasteners, where there were many varieties from
many countries. Only the major source countries from which
a particular repackager acquired his stock were required to
be listed on the container label. It was also found that
the list should begin with that country from which a
distributor obtains the greatest percentage (by weight or by
piece) of his stock. It was also not necessary to list all
countries from which a particular repackager obtained only
relatively small quantities of fasteners. Customs allowed
this partial exemption to "eliminate the economic
prohibitions of strict compliance but preserve the
repackager's obligation to advise the ultimate purchaser of
the foreign origin of the repackaged fasteners."
In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 734165 dated
December 2, 1991, Customs considered U.S.- and foreign-made
LEGO bricks and shapes commingled together in containers and
then, by a random process, packaged into retail packages.
The phrase "Made in Denmark, Switzerland, and U.S.A." was
approved since it was highly probable that a LEGO set would
contain some pieces from all three countries, and,
therefore, the marking on the container would properly
inform the ultimate purchaser of the countries of origin in
the LEGO set
In this case, you have indicated that the screws will
be stored according to their part number and not according
to their country of origin, and that you will be importing
at least 25 percent from either Taiwan or Japan. Therefore,
it appears that it is highly probable that each package of
screws will contain screws from both Japan and Taiwan. It
also does not appear that the result reached in C.S.D. 84-56
applies in this case since you will only be importing from
two source countries. Accordingly, rather than the marking
"Made in Japan or Taiwan", it is our opinion that the label
on the container should read "Made in Japan and Taiwan".
Additionally, please be aware that the requirements of
19 CFR 134.25 (copy enclosed) must be satisfied, which sets
forth the certification requirements if the screws are
imported in bulk and repackaged into retail packages. The
importer must certify to the port director on entry that the
articles intended to be repacked in new containers for sale
to an ultimate purchaser after their release from Customs
custody, will be marked, or that he will notify the
purchaser or transferee of such articles who does the
repacking of such marking requirements.
HOLDING:
Based on the facts submitted, screws imported from
Japan and Taiwan which are commingled and repackaged into
smaller containers may be marked "Made in Japan and Taiwan"
provided the certifications requirements of 19 CFR 134.25
are satisfied. A copy of this ruling letter should be
attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods
are entered. If the documents have been filed without a
copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the
Customs officer handling the transaction.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification Appeals
Division