Marking of Footwear

N017743 October 15, 2007 MAR-2-64:RR:SP:247 CATEGORY: Marking Mr. Peter Jay Baskin Sharretts, Paley, Carter & Blauvelt, P.C. 75 Broad Street New York, NY 10004 RE: Marking of Footwear Dear Mr. Baskin: In your letter dated September 21, 2007, you requested a tariff classification ruling concerning the country of origin marking of footwear on behalf of Wolverine World Wide, Inc.. You have submitted a sample of a formed leather upper produced in the Dominican Republic from materials such as leather hides, thread, metal hooks and grommets which are imported into that country (from an undisclosed source). The uppers will be imported into the United States and completed by the attachment of an outer sole. You propose to mark the completed footwear with a textile label sewn on the underside of the tongue with the statement “Made in Dominican Republic With Outer Soles Assembled in the USA.” As alternatives, you propose the following two phrases: “Upper Made in the Dominican Republic, Final Assembly in the USA”; or “Made in the Dominican Republic, Finished in the USA.” 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 U.S. 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 the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. 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 are 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. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297 at 302 (1940). C.A.D. 104 (1940). The proposed marking “Made in Dominican Republic With Outer Soles Assembled in the USA,” “Upper Made in the Dominican Republic, Final Assembly in the USA”; or “Made in the Dominican Republic, Finished in the USA.” would be acceptable country of origin marking. However, the Federal Trade Commission should be contacted regarding the use of the phrase "Assembled in U.S.A." Any inquiries regarding the use of such phrases reflecting U.S. origin should be directed to Steven Ecklund at the FTC at the following address:Federal Trade Commission 6th & Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.Washington, DC 20505 or by telephone at (202) 326-2841. 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, contact National Import Specialist, Richard Foley at 646-733-3042. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division