COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF BLENDER RETAIL BOXES; ARTICLE 509

N251171 March 24, 2014 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N1:113 CATEGORY: MARKING Mr. Doron Kotkowski Director International Trade and Customs Sunbeam Products Inc., dba Jarden Consumer Solutions 2381 NW Executive Center Drive Boca Raton, FL 33431 RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF BLENDER RETAIL BOXES; ARTICLE 509 Dear Mr. Kotkowski: This is in response to your letter dated March 6, 2014, requesting a ruling on whether the proposed marking “Made in Mexico” is an acceptable country of origin marking for the retail boxes for imported blenders if another marking “Designed in U.S.A.” appears on the retail box which is a country or locality other than the actual country of origin of the blender. A marked sample was not submitted with your letter. A picture of the proposed marking was submitted for our review. You indicated in your letter that Sunbeam Products has manufacturing facilities in the U.S.A. and Mexico, and the subject blenders will be produced in Mexico. You stated that Sunbeam Products is headquartered in Florida and the product designs will be created in Florida. You proposed marking the retail boxes in which the blenders will be sold with the words “Designed in U.S.A/Made in Mexico”. The font size of the “Designed in U.S.A/Made in Mexico” marking is 10 point. The words “Designed in U.S.A.” will be placed on the front of the retail box directly above the “Made in Mexico” marking. 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. Section 134.45(a)(2) of the regulations, provides that “a good of a NAFTA country may be marked with the name of the country of origin in English, French or Spanish. Section 134.1(g) of the regulations, defines a “good of a NAFTA country” as an article for which the country of origin is Canada, Mexico or the United States as determined under the NAFTA Marking Rules. 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 order to satisfy the close proximity requirement, the country of origin marking must generally appear on the same side(s) or surface(s) in which the name or locality other than the actual country of origin appears. You have asked if the phrase “Designed in U.S.A./Made in Mexico” satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134 and is an acceptable country of origin marking for the blender retail boxes. Our office has reviewed the submitted picture of the proposed marking, and noted that the “Designed in U.S.A.” label is in close proximity, the same size, color, and font type as the label “Made in Mexico”. If the words “Made in Mexico” are legible, conspicuous and permanent, the proposed marking of the retail boxes as described above, satisfies the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134 and is an acceptable country of origin marking for the blender retail boxes. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 181 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 181). 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 Ann Taub at (646) 733-3018. Sincerely, Gwenn Klein Kirschner Acting Director National Commodity Specialist Division