Revocation of NY N015337 Country of Origin Marking of an Unassembled Child Bicycle Seat

HQ H234565 March 31, 2014 CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H234565 EGJ CATEGORY: Marking Steve Nowik Customs Compliance Specialist Panalpina Inc. 800 Devon Ave. Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 RE: Revocation of NY N015337: Country of Origin Marking of an Unassembled Child Bicycle Seat Dear Mr. Nowik: This is in reference to New York Ruling Letter (NY) N015337, dated August 23, 2007, issued to you concerning the country of origin marking of an unassembled child bicycle seat comprised of foreign and domestic components. You requested the ruling on behalf of the importer, Bell Sports. In that ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) found that the unassembled child seat should be marked “Made in the United States with additional components from China and Taiwan.” We have reviewed NY N015337 and find it to be in error. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby revoke NY N015337. Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. §1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI, notice of the proposed revocation was published on July 3, 2013, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 47, No. 28. CBP received no comments in response to this notice. FACTS: In NY N015337, CBP identified the subject merchandise as The Cocoon Child Carrier (Item No. 109422), a child seat designed to be attached to the rear rack of an adult’s bicycle. The seat is comprised of a plastic bucket with textile seat pads. A chest harness and a Velcro seat belt are provided to strap the child safely into the seat. The child seat’s carrier knobs, textile seat pads, seat belts, rack hardware and instruction manual will be imported from China. Its reflector with mounting hardware will be imported from Taiwan. The child seat’s molded plastic bucket seat, foot rest, grab bar, plastic rack attachment, labeling and retail box are manufactured in the United States. After importation, the foreign parts will be packaged together for retail sale with the domestically manufactured parts. The child seat will be sold unassembled. The consumer must complete assembly of the seat at home. ISSUES: 1. How should each individual component imported from China be marked with its country of origin? What additional entry documentation is required for these components? 2. How should the unassembled child seat be marked for country of origin purposes at retail sale? 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 container) will permit in such a manner as to indicate to an 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 markings on the imported goods the country of which the good is the product. "The evident purpose is to mark the goods so 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. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940). The ultimate purchaser is “generally the last person in the United States who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported.” 19 C.F.R. § 134.1(d). If an article will be sold “at retail in its imported form, the purchaser at retail is the ‘ultimate purchaser.’” 19 C.F.R. § 134.1(d)(3). In this case, the Chinese and Taiwanese components will be packaged together with domestic components prior to retail sale. However, these components will be in the same condition as at importation. Therefore, the retail purchaser is the ultimate purchaser of the imported parts. The foreign components must be marked at importation. In general, the regulations state that “marking requirements are best met by marking worked into the article at the time of manufacture.” 19 C.F.R. § 134.41(a). However, the regulations also provide that “any method of marking at any location insuring that country of origin will conspicuously appear on the article shall be acceptable.” 19 C.F.R. § 134.44(a). The regulations provide examples of marking imported articles with paper sticker labels or tags. 19 C.F.R. § 134.44(b)-(c). Therefore, each foreign component must be conspicuously marked in accordance with CBP regulations. See 19 C.F.R. Part 134. As the ultimate purchaser is the retail purchaser, the foreign components must bear a conspicuous country of origin marking at retail sale. The regulations set forth the following procedures for imported articles which will be repacked or manipulated: (a) Certification requirements. If an article subject to these requirements is intended to be repacked in retail containers (e.g., blister packs) after its release from Customs custody, or if the port director having custody of the article, has reason to believe such article will be repacked after its release, the importer shall certify to the port director that: (1) If the importer does the repacking, he shall not obscure or conceal the country of origin marking appearing on the article, or else the new container shall be marked to indicate the country of origin of the article in accordance with the requirements of this part; or (2) if the article is intended to be sold or transferred to a subsequent purchaser or repacker, the importer shall notify such purchaser or transferee, in writing, at the time of sale or transfer, that any repacking of the article must conform to these requirements … 19 C.F.R. 134.26(a). Since the importer knows that the foreign components will be repacked after importation, the importer must submit the aforementioned certification to the port at the same time that the entry summary is filed. 19 C.F.R. § 134.26(c). The form is set forth at 19 C.F.R. § 134.26(a). At retail sale, the country of origin marking of the foreign components must either be visible through the retail container or else the outside of the retail container must state the country of origin of each component. See, e.g. Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 559912 dated March 25, 1997 (an unassembled microscope comprised of foreign components had to indicate the country of origin of each component at retail sale) and HQ H025404, dated April 28, 2008 (an automotive repair kit comprised of foreign components had to be marked to indicate the country of origin of each component at retail sale). Additionally, you mentioned that some of the child seat’s components are manufactured in the United States. If the retail container is marked with “United States”, or a U.S. company name, address or similar phrase, the country of origin of the foreign components must be provided in close proximity to this phrase to avoid confusion. 19 C.F.R. § 134.22(c). We note that marking the good as a product of the U.S. is a matter under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission. Therefore, should you wish to mark the articles with the phrase "Made in the USA," we recommend that you contact that agency at the following address: Federal Trade Commission Division of Enforcement 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580. In NY N015337, although not requested, CBP also ruled on the tariff classification of the subject merchandise. We find the tariff classification determination in that ruling to be incorrect. For the correct analysis of the classification of child bike seats, please see NY L86862, dated August 9, 2005. HOLDING: Based upon the information provided, it is our opinion that the components of foreign origin must be individually marked at importation. When the importer files the entry summary, the importer must also file a certificate for the country of origin marking of articles to be repacked pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 134.26. The marking of each foreign component must be visible through the retail container, or else the retail container must be marked to indicate the country of origin of each foreign component. Id. EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS: NY N015337, dated August 23, 2007, is hereby revoked in its entirety. In accordance with 19 U.S.C. §1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin. Sincerely, Myles B. Harmon, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division