THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED MEN’S KNIT SHIRTS.

N086475 December 30, 2009 CLA-2-61:OT:RR:NC:WA:356 CATEGORY: MARKING Mr. John B. Pellegrini McGuireWoods LLP 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 7th Floor New York, NY 10105-0106 RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED MEN’S KNIT SHIRTS. Dear Mr. Pellegrini: This is in response to your letter dated November 30, 2009, submitted on behalf of VF Sportswear, Inc., requesting a ruling concerning the acceptable country of origin marking on certain men’s knit shirts that will be imported from China and other countries. A prototype sample of the shirt, with the marking labels attached, was submitted with your inquiry and will be returned, as you requested. The submitted garment is a men’s shirt constructed from 100% cotton, finely knit fabric. The garment has a woven fabric spread collar, a partial front opening with two button closures, short sleeves with rib knit cuffs, a woven patch on the right chest, an embroidered national flag on the left sleeve, embroidery and screen printing on the left chest and on the back panel, a woven patch on the lower left front panel near the hem, and a hemmed bottom with side slits and a tail. You state that your client has designed twelve styles of shirts with an international sailing competition motif. The motif is carried out by various patches and designs on the garments referring to sailing, specifically international racing. There are three designs for the United States (which are basically the same except for the color of the body fabric), and one each for Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Greece, Korea, Spain, New Zealand and Sweden, and a shirt which is a “multinational” design. The shirts will depict the country’s flag on the left sleeve and will have the country name, as well as other references to the country, in various locations on the front and back of the garment. A hangtag attached to the garment shows nine different national flags with the words “International Challenge” but does not mention the specific names of any of the countries. The woven patch on the lower left front panel states the brand name but has no reference to any country. The sample that was provided has a prototype woven fabric neck label sewn to the center rear neckline below the collar which states the brand name, the fiber content, the garment size and the country of origin as “Made in China.” The country of origin is embroidered in white, plain block letters on a black background in lettering approximately one and one-half inches in length and one-eighth inch high. Photocopies of three proposed woven fabric neck labels have also been supplied. Graphic Neck Label GR10-S-309 shows the brand name, the garment size, the fiber content and the country of origin as “Made in China.” The country of origin is embroidered in black, plain block letters on a white background in lettering approximately one and one-quarter inches in length and one-eighth inch high. Graphic Neck Label GR10-S-310 shows the brand name, the garment size, the fiber content and the country of origin as “Made in China.” The country of origin is embroidered in black, plain block letters on a white background in lettering approximately one and one-half inches in length and one-eighth inch high. A printed logo of the nine country flags, approximately three inches long and one-eighth inch high, is shown directly above the country of origin lettering. Graphic Neck Label GR10-S-311 shows the brand name, the garment size, the fiber content and the country of origin as “Made in China” in either black, plain block letters on a white background or white, plain block letters on a black background. The country of origin is in letters approximately one-sixteenth of an inch high and is located directly to the left of crossed standard racing flags. The fiber content is shown in letters of the same size directly to the right of the standard racing flags. The date “MCMLXXXIII” and the legend “NS USA ESTD” is shown between the crossed flag poles in yellow, plain block letters approximately one-sixteenth of an inch high. 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 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 U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. 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 United States is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. Section 134.1(d), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(d)) defines the “ultimate purchaser” generally as the last person in the United States who will receive the article in the form in which it is imported. Since the garments are intended for retail sale, the retail customer is considered the ultimate purchaser for the purpose of country of origin marking. In T.D. 54640(6), Customs determined that country of origin marking appearing on the inside center of the neck of shirts, blouses, coats, sweaters, etc., mid-way between the shoulder seams or in that immediate area, is conspicuous within the meaning of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.46), deals with cases in which the words "United States," or "American," the letters "U.S.A.," any variation of such words or letters, or the name of any city or locality in the United States, or the name of any foreign country or locality other than the country or locality in which the article was manufactured or produced, appears on an imported article or its container, and those words, letters or names may mislead or deceive the ultimate purchaser as to the actual country of origin. In such a case, there shall appear, legibly and permanently, in close proximity to such words, letters, or name, and in at least a comparable size, the name of the country of origin preceded by "Made in," Product of," or other words of similar meaning. Although 19 CFR 134.46 does not specifically address the situation where symbols associated with a country other than the country of origin appear on imported articles, Headquarters has ruled that the presence of such symbols may be taken into account in determining whether the country of origin is conspicuous. In previous rulings, Headquarters has stated that where a name or symbol other than the name of the country of origin is used as an integral part of the design or decoration of a garment, the use of the name or symbol would not necessarily mislead or confuse the ultimate purchaser as to the country of origin of the garment as long as the actual country of origin is marked legibly and conspicuously on the garment. In the instant situation, the use of the national flag on the garment sleeve and references to various countries on the front and back of the garment are an integral part of the design or decoration of the garment and will not mislead the ultimate consumer as to the actual country of origin. However, the various national flag symbols shown on Graphic Neck Label GR10-S-310 and the lettering “USA” shown between the crossed flag poles on Graphic Label GR10-S-311 are not part of the decoration or design of the garment as they are not visible when the garment is worn. The use of these labels will trigger the requirements of 19 USC 134.46. Nevertheless, the national flag symbols and the lettering “USA” are in a comparable size and in close proximity (approximately one-half inch distance or less) to the stated country of origin and will satisfy the requirements of 19 USC 134.46. Therefore, the country of origin marking, which is shown on the submitted sample and on Graphic Neck Labels GR10-S-309, GR10-S-310, and GR10-S-311 which will be sewn into the center rear neckline of the men’s shirts, is legible and conspicuous and satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134. 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 Mary Ryan at 646-733-3271. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division