Country of origin marking on imported trousers

HQ 731707 July 26, 1989 MAR 2-05 CO:R:C:V 731707 pmh CATEGORY: Marking Ms. Lori Millman Import Coordinator American Trouser 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 6110 New York, NY 10118 RE: Country of origin marking on imported trousers Dear Ms. Millman: This is in response to your letter of July 5, 1988 to the U.S. Customs office in New York. Your letter, in which you request a ruling on the proposed country of origin marking on imported trousers, has been forwarded to us for response. We apologize for the delay. FACTS: According to your letter and a telephone conversation between Ms. Luzma Doughti of your Columbus office and Ms. Patty Hanson of my staff, American Trouser (the importer) will import trousers that are assembled in the Dominican Republic entirely from U.S. components and trousers that are made in several Far Eastern countries. You have submitted several sample labels which will be used for these articles, two fabric labels and two cardboard labels. The first fabric label (label #1) bears the legend "American Trouser TM," (the "TM" is smaller in size, such as that used to indicate the legend is being claimed as a trademark) in red letters approximately 1/4 inch in size, and a blue decorative silhouette of an eagle. You have indicated that this label will appear either on top of or next to a label which bears the care instructions for the garment as well as the words "Assembled in Dominican Republic from U.S.A. Components." All the lettering on this label is 1/8 of an inch in size. You have indicated that this label will be used for the trousers assembled in the Dominican Republic. A second fabric label (label #2) also bears the legend "American Trouser TM" exactly like label #1 and will appear directly above a label which bears the garment care instructions and the words "Made In Jamaica." You have indicated that this label will be used for the trousers being imported from the Far Eastern countries and that the name of the respective country will replace the word "Jamaica." You have not indicated where on the respective garments the fabric label will appear. -2- In addition to the fabric labels you have also submitted two sample cardboard labels. One is a tag that will be securely attached to the waistband of the trousers. It bears the legend "American Trouser TM," "Casual Collection" and the words "ASSEMBLED IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC," all in lettering approximately 1/8 of an inch in size. The tag is white with irregular splotches of red and blue color. The second cardboard label is a hangtag and is of the same design as the waistband tag, but is larger in size. The lettering of the legend "American Trouser TM" and "Casual Collection" is approximately twice the size of the lettering of the words "ASSEMBLED IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC." It has not been indicated where the hangtag will appear on the garment. ISSUE: Whether the country of origin marking on the subject trousers complies with section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), and section 134.47, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.47). LAW AND ANALYSIS: Section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304) requires, in general, that all articles of foreign origin imported into the United States be legibly, conspicuously and permanently marked to indicate the country of origin to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. As provided in 19 CFR 134.41, 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. The issue presented is whether the country of origin marking on the proposed labels is conspicuous in light of the trademark "American Trouser" which appears on each label. In determining whether or not a particular country of origin marking is sufficiently conspicuous, Customs will take into account the presence of words or symbols on the article which may mislead the ultimate purchaser as to the country of origin. Consequently, if the words "United States," or "America," the letters "U.S.A.," any variation of such words or letters, or the name of any city or locality in the U.S., or the name of any foreign country or -3- locality other than the country of origin, appears on an imported article in such a way so as to be misleading to the ultimate purchaser, special marking requirements are triggered. Section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), requires that in such case, the name of the country of origin must appear legibly, permanently and in close proximity to such words, be in letters of at least comparable size and be preceded by the additional words "Made in," "Product of," or other words of similar meaning. However, section 134.47, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.47), provides a special exception from marking where the word "America" or "American" appears on the article as part of a trademark or trade name or as part of a souvenir marking. In such circumstances, no "comparable size" requirement exists and the country of origin marking can either be "in close proximity or in some other conspicuous location." In a ruling published as C.S.D. 88-38 (July 18, 1988) Customs determined that prominent and decorative use of the trademark "Perry Ellis America" displayed on the outside of a T- shirt was not misleading. In that case, the country of origin marking appeared on a label attached to the inside neck of the shirt which is the usual location for marking shirts. Although the words "Made in Zimbabwe" were in letters significantly smaller than those used for the words "Perry Ellis America," Customs found the country of origin mark to be conspicuous and proper because it could be found easily upon casual inspection and was affixed in its usual location. In HQ ruling letter 723116 (September 15, 1983) Customs found that certain handbags imported from Taiwan and bearing the trademark "American West" on a tag sewn to the outer pocket were properly marked according to 19 CFR 134.47. In that case, as in C.S.D. 88-38, Customs based its determination on the fact that the country of origin marking, which was affixed to a seam inside the handbag, could be readily found and easily read upon casual inspection. In each of the cases noted above and in other rulings, Customs found that use of the word "America" or "American" was not misleading based on the fact that the word was part of a trademark and that the country of origin marking was conspicuous. That is, although the country of origin mark in each case was significantly less prominent and was not necessarily located in close proximity to the trademark, it could be found upon casual inspection, was otherwise proper and, therefore, satisfied the requirements of 19 CFR 134.47. -4- Likewise, in the case at hand, it is our opinion that 19 CFR 134.47 applies and that use of the trademark "American Trouser" would not mislead the ultimate purchaser with respect to the origin of the subject trousers. On each of the submitted sample labels, the name of the country of origin appears in close proximity to the word "American" and is preceded by the appropriate words "Made In" or "Assembled In." However, we note that while the lettering used on the cardboard tags is sufficiently conspicuous to satisfy the requirements of section 134.47, the name of the country of origin on the fabric labels is in extremely small lettering. The fact that the lettering is only 1/16 of an inch and appears at the end of the garment care instruction, makes it difficult to find. Therefore, we suggest that the lettering on the fabric labels be enlarged to at least 1/8 of an inch so that it will be readily visible. HOLDING: Based on all the factors in this case and after careful examination of the submitted samples, we find that the cardboard tags, if conspicuously placed on the outside of the garment, satisfy the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.47. We find that the fabric labels will be acceptable if the name of the country of origin is in letters that are sufficiently conspicuous so they are easily found and read without strain. Sincerely, Marvin M. Amernick Chief, Value, Special Programs and Admissibility Branch