THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF Caribbean Rum

N248454 December 31, 2013 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N2:235 CATEGORY: MARKING Mr. Barry Strike Strike & Techel 556 Commercial Street San Francisco, CA 94111 RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF Caribbean Rum Dear Mr. Strike: This is in response to your letter on behalf of your client, The Patrón Spirits Company, Inc. dated November 27, 2013, requesting a ruling on whether the proposed marking “Made in Guyana” is an acceptable country of origin marking for imported Caribbean Rum. A marked sample was not submitted with your letter for review. In your letter, you stated that the product is currently a finished product composed of a proprietary blend of several different Caribbean rums and other ingredients. The blended products are bottled in Guyana and the country is recognized as the country of origin on the product labels; furthermore, you have stated that the Patrón Spirits Company, Inc.is considering relocating the bottling and/or blending processes to Mexico. You have indicated that your client is concerned that the potential relocation will require the product label to indicate Mexico as the country of origin. 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. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304.The country of origin marking requirements for a “good of a NAFTA country” are also determined in accordance with Annex 311 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”), as implemented by section 207 of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat 2057) (December 8, 1993) and the appropriate Customs Regulations. The Marking Rules used for determining whether a good is a good of a NAFTA country are contained in Part 102, Customs Regulations. The marking requirements of these goods are set forth in Part 134, Customs Regulations. Based on the information you have provided, we have determined that the company can continue to identify Guyana as the country of origin if the processes taking place in Mexico is limited to bottling and labeling the product. If the product is blended in Mexico, there will be no required change to the labeling provided that the alcoholic ingredients remain wholly a product of Guyana. 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 Paul Hodgkiss at (646) 733-3046. Sincerely, Gwenn Klein Kirschner Acting Director National Commodity Specialist Division