HQ 734761
October, 16, 1992
MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 734761 KR
Mr. Richard H. Abbey
Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon
2121 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20037
RE: Country of Origin Marking for Semiconductors; Products of the
U.S. Exported and Returned; 19 CFR 134.32(m); T.D. 75-187; Marking
of Containers; "Made in U.S.A."; Multiple Countries of Origin.
Dear Mr. Abbey:
This is in response to your letter dated August 4, 1992,
requesting a country of origin marking ruling on behalf of your
client, Intel Corporation (hereinafter "Intel"), regarding
semiconductors which are manufactured in Korea, Japan, Malaysia,
the Philippines and the U.S.
FACTS:
Intel intends to import semiconductors which are manufactured
in Korea, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and the U.S. The
semiconductors are tested outside of the U.S., at which time they
are commingled. After testing the commingled semiconductors are
returned to inventory for shipping to the U.S. You state that
while it is possible to keep the U.S. semiconductors segregated
from the foreign semiconductors, this is impractical and
unnecessarily costly.
Approximately 25 percent of the semiconductors will be
manufactured in the U.S. The semiconductors built in the U.S.,
although qualifying as products of the U.S. under the Customs
regulations, may not, in your view, qualify for a "Made in the
U.S.A." marking pursuant to Federal Trade Commission (hereinafter
"FTC") regulations. As products of the U.S. are not subject to the
country of origin marking requirements, you seek to avoid this
difficulty by marking the containers of the commingled
semiconductors with the names only of the foreign countries of
origin. Thus, you seek Customs authorization to mark the
containers of the semiconductors with the names of all the
countries of origin except the U.S. in a manner such as: "Made in
Korea, Japan, Malaysia, or the Philippines".
ISSUE:
Does T.D. 75-187 preclude the marking of a container of
semiconductor devices with the statement : "Made in ... or ..."
without reference to the devices which may be commingled therein
which are assembled in the U.S. and are products of the U.S. for
Customs purposes?
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.
An article is excepted from marking under 19 U.S.C.
1304(a)(3)(D) and 19 CFR 134.32(d), if marking its container will
reasonably indicate the origin of the article. Further, as your
submission points out, products of the U.S. when exported and
returned to the U.S. are exempted from country of origin marking
pursuant to 19 CFR 134.32(m). Thus, they would normally be
excepted from country of origin marking when returned to the U.S.
after overseas testing.
With respect to semiconductor devices, Customs has applied
the regulations liberally to allow the marking of their containers
with a statement such as "Made in one or more of the following
countries..." T.D. 75-187. This marking was permitted because
when devices are commingled for bona fide reasons it becomes
difficult for Customs to enforce the normal requirement that each
imported article be marked with its actual country of origin.
Similarly, to require segregation of the devices would have been
burdensome upon manufacturers and importers.
However, the Customs authorization to mark in this manner is
limited to those cases in which all the devices are of foreign
origin; by its terms T.D. 75-187 is "not...applicable if foreign
origin devices are commingled with domestically-manufactured
devices", as proposed here by Intel. Accordingly, Intel requests
clarification and/or modification of T.D. 75-187 to permit a
marking of semiconductor containers which lists multiple foreign
country names and makes no reference to the U.S. origin (for tariff
purposes) of up to 25 percent of the devices contained therein.
Inasmuch as Intel does not seek to refer to the U.S. origin
of some of the devices, and is willing to forego such commercial
benefits as might accrue to it from using such references, we can
find no legal basis to withhold approval of its proposed marking.
The U.S. origin devices plainly are eligible to be excepted from
country of origin marking pursuant to section 134.32(m) of the
Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.32(m)). When commingled with
foreign origin devices and marked under the especially liberal
scope of the marking requirements applicable to semiconductor
devices under T.D. 75-187 (such formulations as "made in one or
more of the following.....", or "Made in ...or.....or....." not
generally having been permitted for other articles), there is no
measurable loss of accuracy in the marking if the U.S. origin
devices are not identified.
HOLDING:
T.D. 75-187 does not preclude multiple country of origin
marking for containers of semiconductor devices in the form, "Made
in .... or ...." Such marking of semiconductor devices is
acceptable when the importer chooses to make no reference to U.S.
origin devices commingled with the foreign origin devices and such
devices are excepted from country of origin marking as products of
the U.S. exported and returned pursuant to 19 CFR 134.32(m). This
finding applies only for purposes of country of origin marking
under 19 U.S.C. 1304 and Part 134, Customs Regulations, and has no
effect with respect to any of the importer's existing obligations
with respect to dutiability, licensing, or recordkeeping under the
Customs Laws and Regulations.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division