MAR-2 RR:NC:1:106 C81571
Mr. Randall Cleaver
Orbit Irrigation Products, Inc.
845 N. Overland Road
North Salt Lake, UT 84054
RE: The Country of Origin Marking of Pop-up Sprinklers; Article 509
Dear Mr. Cleaver:
This is in response to your letter dated November 6, 1997 requesting a ruling on whether the proposed marking "Made in USA" is an acceptable country of origin marking for imported pop-up sprinklers. A marked sample was submitted with your letter for review.
In your request you state that the various parts of the WaterMaster 2 1/8" spring-loaded pop-up sprinkler will be shipped to Mexico for assembly, labelling and packaging before return to the United States for retail sale. The parts include various molded plastic components, a metal adjusting screw and a metal spring. With the exception of the screw and a plastic filter, all of the components of the sprinkler will be of U. S, origin.
Part 102 of the Customs Regulation sets forth rules for determining the country of origin of imported goods, that is, when a good is a good of a party for the purposes specified in paragraph 1 of Annex 311 of the North American Free-Trade Agreement ("NAFTA"). Under the first three of those rules the country of origin of a good is the country in which:
(1) The good is wholly obtained or produced;
(2) The good is produced exclusively from domestic materials; or
(3) Each foreign material incorporated in that good undergoes an applicable change in tariff classification set out in 102.20 and satisfies any other applicable requirements of that section, and all other applicable requirements of these rules are satisfied.
Applying these rules to the facts presented in your request, neither rules 1 nor 2 above could be invoked since the pop-up
sprinkler is not wholly obtained or produced in one NAFTA country, involving as it does the assembly in Mexico of U. S. and non-NAFTA components, nor is it produced exclusively from domestic materials of one NAFTA country.
Turning to rule 3, we need to look at each foreign component, that is, in this case, all of the components shipped to Mexico for assembly, to see if they undergo the applicable change in tariff classification as required by section 102.20 of the Regulations. The pop-up sprinkler is classifiable within the range of subheadings 8424.10 to 8424.89 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS). These subheadings describe various mechanical appliances for projecting, dispersing or spraying liquids or powders. The pop-up sprinkler is clearly described in this range. The section 102.20 rule for this range requires a change in classification within that range of subheadings from any other subheading, including another subheading within that group. All of the components of the pop-up sprinkler satisfy this classification change rule inasmuch as all of them, before assembly into the pop-up sprinkler, are classified in provisions other than within the range of subheadings 8424.10 to 8424.89, HTS. As a result of the application of rule 3 above, the pop-up sprinkler is found to be a good of Mexico.
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 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.
The country of origin marking requirements for a "good of a NAFTA country" are also determined in accordance with Annex 311 of the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA"), as implemented by section 207 of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat 2057) (December 8, 1993) and the appropriate Customs Regulations. As we have said, the Marking Rules used for determining whether a good is a good of a NAFTA country are contained in Part 102, Customs Regulations. The marking requirements of these goods are set forth in Part 134, Customs Regulations.
Section 134.45(a)(2) of the regulations, provides that "a good of a NAFTA country may be marked with the name of the country of origin in English, French or Spanish. Section 134.1(g) of the regulations, defines a "good of a NAFTA country" as an article for which the country of origin is Canada, Mexico or the United States as determined under the NAFTA Marking Rules.
We have determined under these rules that the imported pop-up sprinklers are products of Mexico and should be marked "Made in Mexico" in conformity with the requirements of Part 134 of the Customs Regulations.
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.
The proposed marking of imported pop-up sprinklers, as "Made in USA", although conspicuously, legibly and permanently marked in satisfaction of the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134, is not an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported goods. The goods should be marked "Made in Mexico."
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 Patrick Wholey at 212-466-5668.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division