MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V RSD
Mr. Jack Ryan
Senior Customs Analyst
3M Transportation Department
3M Center
PO Box 33250
St. Paul, Minnesota 55133-3250
RE: Country of origin marking of intravenous sets packaged in
plastic pouches and sold in cardboard master cartons; container
marking; 19 U.S.C. 1304 (a)(3)(D) and 19 CFR 134.32(d); 19 CFR
134.46
Dear Mr. Ryan:
This is in response to your letter dated July 26, 1993,
requesting a ruling on the country of origin marking requirements
for intravenous sets packaged in plastic pouches and sold in
master cartons. You have submitted samples of the intravenous
sets packaged in the plastic pouches and sample of the label used
to mark the master cartons. Your letter indicates that the
Customs district in El Paso has informed you that the proposed
marking for intravenous sets is not acceptable. You are
requesting a ruling from Customs headquarters in order to
determine if the marking on the submitted samples would satisfy
the requirements of the country of origin marking law.
FACTS:
3M imports intravenous administration sets from a number of
different countries. The sets are packaged one set to a plastic
pouch, forty pouches to a master carton and four master cartons
to a shipping carton. Both the shipping cartons and the master
cartons are marked with the statement "Made to 3M Specification
in (giving the full English language name of the country of
origin)".
The Individual Intravenous pouches are marked as follows:
3M Health Care
3M Center Bldg. 275-5W-05
St. Paul, MN 55144-1000
1-800-336-7675
Made to 3M Specifications
See lot code for country of
origin (third character from
right): K-Korea, S-Singapore
E-Taiwan, T-Thailand,
U-U.K., A-USA
The lot code number is located approximately 1 1/2 inches
below the above statement and is printed in large black
characters. The first five characters denote the month and year
of the manufacture of the product and the sixth character denotes
the country of origin. 3M wants to use this marking scheme
because it allows you to use one pouch for all the intravenous
sets rather than having to print a different pouch for each of
the different countries of manufacture.
You represent that the intravenous sets are sold to
customers only in the master carton lots, and it is not possible
to buy a smaller amount. There is no indication whether the
master cartons are sealed when they are imported in the U.S.
The El Paso district of Customs has informed you that they
believe the country of origin marking on the pouches is not
satisfactory because of the presence of the St. Paul, Minnesota
reference. Food and Drug Administration regulations require that
the 3M address be on the pouch.
ISSUE:
Does the above described means of marking the country of
origin on the pouches containing the intravenous sets satisfy the
country of origin marking law, if the master cartons are properly
marked to indicate the country of origin of the intravenous sets?
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. 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., 27
C.C.P.A. 297 at 302 (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 134.41(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.
Section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), requires
that when the name of any city or locality in the U.S., 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. The
purpose of this requirement is to prevent the possibility of
misleading or deceiving the ultimate purchaser of the article as
to the actual origin of the imported goods. Customs has
specifically ruled that in order to satisfy the close proximity
requirement, the country of origin marking must generally appear
on the same side(s) or surface(s) in which the name of the
geographical reference other than the country of origin appears.
HQ 734531 (March 17, 1993).
Articles for which the marking of the containers will
reasonably indicate the origin of the article are excepted from
marking under 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D). This exception applies
only if the article in question is imported in a properly marked
container and Customs is satisfied that the article will reach
the ultimate purchaser in this original unopened marked
container. See also 19 CFR 134.32(d).
In this case, the intravenous sets are to be sold only to
the ultimate purchasers in the master cartons. No intravenous
sets are supposed to be taken out of the master carton and sold
separately. The master cartons are properly marked to indicate
the country of origin of the intravenous sets. Therefore, the
ultimate purchaser will be advised of the country of origin of
the intravenous sets by the marking on the master cartons and
therefore the individual intravenous sets are excepted from
marking under 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D) and 19 CFR 134.32(d).
The individual pouches for the intravenous sets contain a
U.S. reference, "St. Paul, MN". We believe in this instance the
approach to marking used by the 3M company would be sufficient to
satisfy the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134.
Ultimate purchasers will not be mislead by this U.S. address
because they receive the intravenous sets only in the properly
marked master carton and will be advised regarding the country of
origin by the marking on the master carton. Through the lot code
number and the accompanying statement printed on the individual
pouches explaining on the how to determine the country of origin,
the ultimate purchaser can also ascertain the country of origin
of the product. The marking on the pouch by means of country
coding, under the circumstances presented, is sufficient to
satisfy the requirements of 19 CFR 134.46. We believe that the
combination of the country of origin marking scheme on the
pouches and the marking on the master cartons will inform the
ultimate purchaser of the country of origin of the intravenous
sets and that there is very little chance that the ultimate
purchaser will be mislead by the U.S. reference on the pouch.
HOLDING:
The country of origin marking on the master cartons and the
scheme of country coding on the pouches of the individual
intravenous sets satisfy the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and
19 CFR Part 134, provided that the Customs officials at the port
of entry are satisfied the intravenous sets will reach the
ultimate purchaser only in the unopened properly marked master
cartons.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division