The country of origin marking of imported shirts and dresses

N239345 April 5, 2013 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N3:360 CATEGORY: MARKING Ms. Lauren Sussman Everlane 110 Sutter Street Suite 800 San Francisco, CA 94104 RE: The country of origin marking of imported shirts and dresses Dear Ms. Sussman: This is in response to your letter dated March 6, 2013, requesting a ruling on whether your proposed marking is an acceptable country of origin marking for imported women’s shirts and dresses if another locality other than the actual country of origin appears on the article. Samples were not submitted with your letter. In your letter, you propose replacing the words “Made in Dongguan, China” with “Cut and sewn in Dongguan, China,” “Designed in San Francisco; assembled in Dongguan, China,” or “Designed in San Francisco; cut and sewn in Dongguan, China.” 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. 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 U.S. is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. In Treasury Decision (T.D.) 54640 (6), Customs ruled that garments such as shirts and blouses must be marked on the inside center of the neck, midway between the shoulder seams or in that immediate area. 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. In the present situation, the name of the country of origin preceded by the words “cut and sewn in” or “assembled in” does not constitute an acceptable country of origin marking in satisfaction of the marking requirements of 19 CFR Part 134.46. See HQ 734144 of July 5, 1991 and HQ 560423 of October 10, 1997. 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 Kimberly Rackett at (646) 733-3051. Sincerely, Thomas J. Russo Director National Commodity Specialist Division