MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Randy L. Pohler
Customs Broker
R.L. Pohler & Company
P.O. Box 420308
Del Rio, TX 78842-0308
RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF BAR STOOLS
Dear Mr. Pohler:
This is in response to your letter dated January 17, 2013, on behalf of Sanford Enterprises, requesting a ruling on whether the proposed marking “assembled in Mexico from materials of Malaysian, Indonesian or Vietnamese origin” is an acceptable country of origin marking for imported bar stools. A sample of the marking was not submitted with your letter for review.
According to your submission, Sanford Enterprises, will be receiving fully manufactured, disassembled, rubber wood bars stools (item number 02717 is a 24-inch bar stool and item number 02718 is a 29-inch bar stool) from Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, and assembling them without further manufacture at their Mexican facility. It is further stated in your request, that it is foreseen, on occasion, there will be assembled bar stools which might contain parts from more than one country of origin due to breakage during shipment or short shipments received at the Mexican Facility. We concur with you that the assembling of fully manufactured bar stools does not qualify for preferential duty treatment under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), nor in our opinion to be marked with country of origin Mexico.
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 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.” See United States v. Friedlander & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302; C.A.D. 104 (1940).
In this instance, the assembling of the bar stools in Mexico from Malaysian, Indonesian or Vietnamese parts, either from one country or mixed countries, does not convert the country of origin to Mexico – see 19 C.F.R. § 102 – Rules of Origin; NAFTA Marking Rules. Thus, we find that the country of origin of bar stools: from parts that are all Malaysian to be that of Malaysia, from parts that are all Indonesian to be that of Indonesia, and from parts that are all Vietnamese to be that of Vietnam.
Where parts are from different countries and mixed together during assembly operations, insufficient information was provided to determine the country of origin of those bar stools. Upon submission of a bill of materials for each barstool, a material breakdown for each barstool, and a step-by-step process description for each bar stool, this office will issue a marking ruling.
With respect to the proposed marking “assembled in Mexico from materials of Malaysian, Indonesian or Vietnamese origin,” we note that 19 C.F.R. § 134.43 (e) provides: Where an article is produced as a result of an assembly operation and the country of origin of such article is determined under this chapter to be the country in which the article was finally assembled, such article may be marked, as appropriate, in a manner such as the following: (1) Assembled in (country of final assembly); (2) Assembled in (country of final assembly) from components of (name of country or countries of origin of all components); or (3) Made in, or product of, (country of final assembly.)
Consequently, we find, that since the bar stools are not produced in Mexico as a result of assembly operations the proposed marking “assembled in Mexico from materials of Malaysian, Indonesian or Vietnamese origin” is not permitted. The country of origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain –see 19 C.F.R. § 134.41 (b). Accordingly, the bar stools must be marked with country of origin Malaysia, Indonesia or Vietnam depending on the assembled parts from one country. In the event that 19 C.F.R. § 134.46 “Marking when name of country or locality other than country of origin appears” is applicable, then in at least comparable size, the name of the country of origin preceded by “Made in,” “Product of,” Manufactured in,” or other words of similar meaning is required.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 177).
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 Neil H. Levy at (646) 733-3036.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division