MAR-2 RR:NC:2:231
Mr. Gary Bauer
Pontchartrain Blue Crab Inc.
38327 Salt Bayou Road
Slidell, Louisiana 70461
RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF CRABMEAT PICKED IN THE UNITED
STATES FROM MEXICAN CRABS; NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (“NAFTA”); ARTICLE 509
Dear Mr. Bauer:
This is in response to your letter dated February 16, 2011, requesting a ruling on the country of origin status and marking requirements applicable to certain crabmeat obtained in the United States from crabs imported from Mexico.
Your company will be importing whole crabs from Mexico for handpicking in the U.S. The crabs will first be captured in the wild in Mexico, after which they will be fully steam-cooked at a processing plant in Mexico. They will then be refrigerated and bulk-loaded onto refrigerated trucks for transport to the U.S. Upon arrival in the U.S., the cooked, whole, in-shell crabs will be handpicked, and the resulting crabmeat will be packed in plastic containers for sale as fresh or frozen, or packed in hermetically sealed cups and pasteurized. The packaged, shell-free crabmeat will be sold in the U.S. at retail, to restaurants, and to wholesalers and food service distributors. You seek a determination as to the appropriate country of origin labeling for the finished crabmeat products.
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.
Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Pursuant to 19 CFR Section 134.1(b), the country of origin is the country of manufacture, production or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the U.S. Further work or material added to a foreign article in the United States must effect a substantial transformation in order to render the final product a good of the U.S. However, for a good of a NAFTA country, the NAFTA Marking Rules (set forth in 19 CFR Part 102) will determine the country of origin.
In the outlined scenario, the live crabs originate within the NAFTA territory (in Mexico) and all subsequent processing also takes place within the NAFTA territory (in Mexico and the United States). Therefore, the NAFTA marking rules apply. It appears that the whole steam-cooked unshelled crabs entering the U.S. would be classifiable in subheading 0306.24.40 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), while the finished packages of crabmeat would be classifiable in subheading 1605.10.20 or 1605.10.40, HTSUS. Under the pertinent NAFTA Marking Rule in 19 CFR 102.11(a)(3) / 102.20, this would be an acceptable “tariff shift,” meaning that the U.S. processing would render the United States the country of origin of the finished crabmeat.
Accordingly, based on the information presented, the packages of finished crabmeat are products of the United States for CBP marking purposes. Thus, since the packages of finished crabmeat are not considered “foreign” products, they are not required to be marked with their country of origin for CBP purposes. The question of whether their labeling may consist of or include the phrase “Product of USA” is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which may be contacted for advice at 6th & Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.
Also, since seafood is additionally subject to the Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (“COOL”) requirements administered by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), we advise you to check with that agency for their further guidance on your scenario. Contact information for AMS is as follows:
USDA-AMS-LS-SAT
Room 2607-S, Stop 0254
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250-0254
Tel. (202) 720-4486
Website: www.ams.usda.gov/COOL
Email address for inquiries: [email protected]
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 181).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Nathan Rosenstein at 646-733-3030.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity Specialist Division