CLA-2-11:OT:RR:NC:N2:228
Mr. George Mtonga
Mtonga Group, Inc.
4285 Buford Hwy NE
Atlanta, GA 30345
RE: The tariff classification, country of origin, marking, and application of a trade program or trade agreement of food products from Zambia
Dear Mr. Mtonga:
In your letter dated February 28, 2019, you requested a tariff classification, country of origin, marking, and application of a trade program or trade agreement ruling.
A product catalog and eleven samples of various sealed wrapped food products accompanied your inquiry. Three samples were identified, examined and discarded. The three samples were cassava flour, dried fish, and dried mopani worms. Nine samples are being returned to you because there were no product descriptions on them, and they did not match any of the exhibits in the catalog.
The applicable subheading for the dried fish will be 0305.52.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for dried fish, other than edible fish offal, whether or not salted but not smoked . . . Tilapias (Oreochromis app.) . . . . The general rate of duty will be free.
The applicable subheading for the dried worms will be 0410.00.0000, HTSUS, which provides for edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included. The general rate of duty will be 1.1 percent ad valorem.
In your letter you inquired about the application of a trade program or agreement. Articles classifiable under subheading 0410.00.0000, HTSUS, which are products of Zambia may be entitled to duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. The GSP is subject to modification and periodic suspension, which may affect the status of your transaction at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. To obtain current information on GSP, check our Web site at www.cbp.gov and search for the term “GSP”.
The applicable subheading for the cassava flour will be 1106.20.9000, HTSUS, which provides for flour, meal and powder . . . of sago or of roots or tubers of heading 0714 . . . other. The general rate of duty will be free.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
In your letter you inquired about marking and country of origin. 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 United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134) implements the country or origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304.
Section 134.1(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)), defines “country of origin” as “the country of manufacture, production or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. In this case, the country of origin for the three products are Zambia. Therefore, at importation the packagings for the three products must be marked with the legend “Product of Zambia,” whether for commercial purposes or for retail.
As provided in section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), 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.
With regard to the permanency of a marking, section 134.41(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(a)), provides that as a general rule marking requirements are best met by marking worked into the article at the time of manufacture. For example, it is suggested that the country of origin on metal articles be die sunk, molded in, or etched. However, section 134.44, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.44), generally provides that any marking that is sufficiently permanent so that it will remain on the article until it reaches the ultimate purchaser unless deliberately removed is acceptable.
If you decide to resubmit your request on the 9 returned items, please limit your ruling request to a maximum of 5 items of the same class or kind. In filing your request, please follow the steps on the website pertaining to the description of the merchandise on the drop-down menus.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 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 pertaining to the cassava flour, contact National Import Specialist Bruce N. Hadley, Jr. at [email protected]. If you have any questions regarding the ruling pertaining to the fish and worms, contact National Import Specialist Ekeng Manczuk at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division