THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF FROZEN SHRIMP

N308051 January 3, 2020 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N2:231 CATEGORY: MARKING Mr. Alexander Vassallo Wildwaters Seafood Ltd SQ1 Law, Anson House The Fleming Business Centre Burdon Terrace, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne NE2 3AE Great Britain RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF FROZEN SHRIMP Dear Mr. Vassallo: In your letter dated December 4, 2019 requesting a ruling on an acceptable country of origin marking for imported frozen shrimps. You did not submit a marked sample nor representative label with your letter for review. You stated that the subject merchandise is wild caught shrimps (Pandalus borealis) harvested from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Major Fishing Area 21 (Northwest-Atlantic) and FAO 27 (Northeast Atlantic) by vessels bearing the flags of Norway, Iceland, Faroe Island, Russia, Canada, Denmark and the United Kingdom. The shrimps are exported to Iceland where they are brined (salt water), steamed, peeled, beheaded and the tails removed. The shrimps are placed in salt water once more before they are flash frozen then packed in retail bags with a net weight of 11 ounces each. The finished packaged product will be sold to super markets upon importation into the United States. 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. A specialized rule governs seafood articles such that, unless the animal was caught or harvested within the territorial waters of a country, the country of origin follows the flag of the catching vessel. This rule of origin, the “Law of the Flag,” was affirmed by the Court of International Trade in Koru North America v. United States, 701 F. Supp. 229 (CIT 1988). The court noted that “in international law, a ship on the high seas is considered foreign territory, functionally, ‘a floating island of the country to which [it] belongs’.” Concerning this case, wild caught shrimps (Pandalus borealis) are harvested from FAO 21 (Northwest-Atlantic) and FAO 27 (Northeast Atlantic) by vessels bearing the flags of multiple countries. The shrimps are further processed in Iceland (brined, cooked by steam, peeled etc.) then frozen prior to exportation to the United States. We find that the shrimps have not been substantially transformed because of the processing in Iceland, and that therefore the country of origin of the finished (packaged) product is represented by the country of each shrimp trawling vessel, i.e. Norway, Iceland, Faroe Island, Russia, Canada, Denmark and the United Kingdom. In your submission, you suggested that the words “Caught in North Atlantic” might be added next to the country of origin declaration in order to enhance the ultimate purchaser’s knowledge of the origin of the shrimp. “North Atlantic” is not a “country” as defined in section 134.1(a) of the Customs Regulations, the proposed marking “Caught in North Atlantic” does not satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134; and is not recommended by this office as it will be misleading. Please note that seafood is subject to the Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (“COOL”) requirements administered by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), we advise you to check with that agency for their further guidance on your scenario. Contact information for AMS is as follows: USDA-AMS-LS-SAT Room 2607-S, Stop 0254 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250-0254 Tel. (202) 720-4486 Website: www.ams.usda.gov/COOL Email address for inquiries: COOL@usda.gov This merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling the FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html. 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 Ekeng Manczuk at ekeng.b.manczuk@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division