THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF SPENT CARTRIDGES

N178456 August 26, 2011 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:B1:106 CATEGORY: MARKING Ms. Sylvia Bertolani CEVA International 2190 Hanson Way Woodland, CA 95776 RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF SPENT CARTRIDGES Dear Ms. Bertolani: This is in response to your letter dated August 04, 2011 requesting a ruling on whether marking of the country of origin is required on spent (depleted) cartridges on behalf of your client, Close The Loop, Inc. (CTL) of Hebron, KY. The articles under consideration have been identified as spent ink and toner cartridges. As new, ink and toner cartridges are purchased by various business consumers and used in printers. The manufacturer and the country of origin of the cartridges vary. Once the ink and toner cartridges are depleted, consumers may opt to recycle the spent cartridge. The cartridges are sent to a consolidation facility in Toronto, Ontario. Once the depleted cartridges are received by the consolidation facility, they are packaged, whether in their original boxes or old paper boxes, and shipped to CTL in the United States. CTL of Hebron, KY is a recycler of imaging consumables and provides recycling programs and partners with various manufacturers to collect the spent cartridges. When the cartridges arrive, there, CTL unpacks and sorts them by the type of product, model number and material type. The cartridges are subject to one of three processing methods: Cartridges (whole or parts) are returned to the original manufacturer for re-production Cartridge is shredded and raw materials (plastics and metals) are recovered Cartridge is packaged and sent for disposal at a waste to energy facility The whole cartridges that are sent to the original manufacturer will have the country of origin marking on them. The cartridges designated for shredding remain at CTL, where they are further processed and turned into plastic pellets that are sold as a commodity in the United States. Any country of origin marking is completely obliterated. The cartridges that require disposal are sent to a facility that uses the material as fuel to create energy. Again, any country of origin marking is completely obliterated. You state that CTL does not re-manufacture or sell the cartridges directly to an end consumer. No products that leave CTL’s facility through this program are delivered directly to an end user. Concerning the imported spent cartridges, 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 U.S. 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. Section 134.32 states in pertinent parts “The articles described or meeting the specified conditions set forth below are excepted from marking requirements… (g) Articles to be processed in the United States by the importer or for his account otherwise than for the purpose of concealing the origin of such articles and in such manner that any mark contemplated by this part would necessary be obliterated, destroyed, or permanently concealed. Section 134.22 (e) states “…Containers and holders of imported articles are not required to be marked if: (1)… They are containers or holders of articles within the exceptions set forth in paragraph (f), (g) or (h) in Section 134.32…” The spent ink cartridges are exempted from the marking requirements per 19 C.F.R. § 134.32(g) in their condition as imported by CTL. The outermost containers in which the spent cartridges are imported will also be excepted from marking at the time of importation pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 134.22(e)(1). However, the port director must be satisfied that CTL will mark its "recycled" products in a manner to indicate the country of origin to the ultimate purchaser in the United States (unless CTL is the ultimate purchaser). Certain marking requirements may also apply to any retail packaging of the "recycled" products, consistent with 19 C.F.R. § 134.26. A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the CBP officer handling the transaction. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 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 Matthew Sullivan at (646) 733-3013. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division