Internal Advice Request No 08/012; Country of origin marking requirements for boxes not designed for reuse

HQ H031386 November 5, 2010 CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H031386 GC CATEGORY: Marking TARIFF NO.: N/A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Buffalo Service Port 726 Exchange Street, Suite 400 Buffalo, New York 14210 Attn: Lawrence J. Mruk, Supervisory Import Specialist RE: Internal Advice Request No: 08/012; Country of origin marking requirements for boxes not designed for reuse Dear Port Director: This letter is in reply to your memorandum, dated June 10, 2008, forwarding a request for internal advice submitted by Diplomat Global Logistics on behalf of their client, Premier Packaging (Premier). The internal advice request pertains to the country of origin marking requirements of cardboard jewelry or gift boxes imported by Premier for use by retailers. FACTS: The sample provided consists of 100 two-piece jewelry-type boxes measuring approximately 2 inches in length by 1.5 inches in width by .5 inches in height. The boxes are composed of cardboard embossed with a metallic foil. Inside each box is a non-woven textile material used as padding for the box’s retail contents. The boxes are packaged in a single larger cardboard box that features information such as the purchase order number, item number, quantity, and the country of origin of the small jewelry or gift boxes contained therein. Premier states that the small boxes will be sold to its customers, who are various retail sellers, in the larger cardboard box. Premier’s customers will then package the smaller boxes with retail items like jewelry or other trinkets. ISSUE: Whether the subject cardboard boxes constitute containers or holders not designed for or capable of reuse for the purposes of applying 19 C.F.R. §134.24? LAW AND ANALYSIS: 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 United States 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. 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." United States v. Friedlander & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302; C.A.D. 104 (1940). Part 134, CBP Regulations (19 C.F.R. §134) implements the country of origin marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. §1304. 19 C.F.R. §134.1(b) defines “country of origin” as: [T]he country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the “country of origin” within the meaning of [the marking regulations]…. It is undisputed that the country of origin of the boxes at issue here is China. We note that 19 C.F.R. §134.24, which sets forth the marking rules for containers or holders not designed or capable for reuse, states, in pertinent part: (a) Containers ordinarily discarded after use. Disposable containers or holders subject to the provisions of this section are the usual ordinary types of containers or holders, including cans, bottles, paper or polyethylene bags, paperboard boxes, and similar containers or holders which are ordinarily discarded after the contents have been consumed. (b) Imported empty. Disposable containers or holders imported for distribution or sale are subject to treatment as imported articles in accordance with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (19 U.S.C. 1202), and shall be marked to indicate clearly the country of their own origin. However, when the containers are packed and sold in multiple units (dozens, gross, etc.), this requirement ordinarily may be met by marking the outermost container which reaches the ultimate purchaser. (c) Imported to be filled--(1) If unmarked. When disposable containers or holders or usual containers which are goods of a NAFTA country are imported by persons or firms who fill or package them with various products which they sell, these persons or firms are the ``ultimate purchasers'' of these containers or holders or usual containers which are goods of a NAFTA country and they may be excepted from individual marking pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D). The outside wrappings or packages containing the containers shall be clearly marked to indicate the country of origin…. The simple construction of the subject boxes and the nature of the materials used in their composition indicate that they are indeed disposable containers not designed for reuse. This is consistent with the stated use of the products which is to hold jewelry or other small gifts for retail sale. The subject boxes are of a kind ordinarily discarded after such items are purchased. Furthermore, CBP has held that the persons or firms who import empty disposable containers for the purpose of filling or packaging them with various products which they sell are the ultimate purchasers of the containers. See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 558835, dated October 25, 1994. In HQ 733716, dated June 6, 1991, the U.S. Customs Service (now CBP) held that, per 19 C.F.R. §134.24(b) and (c), disposable plastic bottles or vials imported into the United States empty and subsequently sold in multiple units to be filled with medication by pharmacists are not required to be individually marked when imported provided that their outer wrappings or packaging are properly marked with the country of origin. See also HQ 732823, dated January 19, 1990. Accordingly, we find that the ultimate purchasers of the instant boxes are Premier’s customers who purchase the boxes for the purpose of packing them with retail products. The instant boxes do not need to be individually marked provided that the larger box in which they are shipped to the ultimate purchaser is marked with the country of origin of the boxes per the requirements 19 C.F.R. §134.24(b). See HQ 558835; see also New York Ruling Letter N117920, dated August 26, 2010. HOLDING: In accordance with 19 C.F.R. §134.24, the subject cardboard jewelry or gift boxes do not have to be individually marked provided that they reach the ultimate purchaser packaged in a larger box that bears the proper country of origin marking. You are to mail this decision to the internal advice requester no later than 60 days from the date of the decision. At that time, the Office of International Trade, Regulations and Rulings, will make the decision available to CBP personnel, and to the public on the CBP Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.cbp.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution. Sincerely, Myles B. Harmon, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division