The marking of a knife set from China.

N323190 January 3, 2022 MAR-2-82:OT:RR:NC:N4:415 CATEGORY: Marking Ms. Alena A. Eckhardt, Esq. Junker & Nakachi, P.C. One Market Street, Suite 3600 San Francisco, CA 94105 RE: The marking of a knife set from China. Dear Ms. Eckhardt: In your letter dated December 11, 2021, you requested a marking ruling on behalf of your client, William Henry, LLC. The product under consideration is described as the “Kultro K20 Gourmet Steak Knives.” The knives will come in sets, which include six steak knives, a wooden display/storage rack, and a roll/case made from leather. There are four versions of this set, “K20S-IRW Kultro Gourmet Ironwood,” “K20S-IRM Kultro Gourmet Ironwood,” “K20S-EW Kultro Gourmet Ebony,” and “K20S-ERM Kultro Gourmet Ebony.” They differ by either the handle material or the wood used in the display/storage rack. In your submission, you indicate the knives and leather rolls/cases will be made in China. The display/storage racks will be built in the United States. After importation the knives and leather rolls/cases will be sorted, reviewed for quality control, and then packaged together with the display racks in the United States into the final retail box/container for distribution and sale. You inquired whether the knives need to be individually marked or if it is acceptable to conspicuously mark the retail packaging, which will reach the ultimate purchaser. Further, you wanted to know whether a repackaging certificate would be required. With regard to the appropriate country of origin marking of these knife sets, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 USC 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 134.1(d), defines the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. The ultimate purchaser of these knife sets will be the consumer who purchases the product at retail. In this case, neither the knives nor the display/storage racks are substantially transformed by the repackaging operation in the United States. So, the country of origin of the knife set is China and the United States. However, since 19 USC 1304 is applicable only to articles of “foreign origin,” the knife set is not required to be marked with a reference to the United States origin.  Certain types of articles must be marked in a specified manner as required by 19 CFR 134.43. Knives are specifically identified in this regulatory provision as articles that must be marked legibly and conspicuously by die stamping, cast-in-the-mold lettering, etching, or engraving. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has previously ruled that such articles may be excepted from individual marking if the marking of their containers will reasonably indicate the origin of the articles pursuant to 19 CFR 134.32(d). However, since these knife sets are not imported in their marked retail container, whether the subject articles are excepted from individual marking under 19 CFR 134.32(d) is for the Center director to decide. In this regard, section 134.34, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.34), provides that an exception may be authorized in the discretion of the Center director under 19 CFR 134.32(d) for imported articles which are to be repacked after release from Customs custody under the following conditions: (1) The containers in which the articles are repacked will indicate the origin of the articles to an ultimate purchaser in the U.S.; (2) The importer arranges for supervision of the marking of the containers by Customs officers at the importer's expense or secures such verification, as may be necessary, by certification and the submission of a sample or otherwise, of the marking prior to the liquidation of the entry. Thus, the retail box for these knife sets may be marked “Made in China.” To your secondary question, as it is intended to repackage these knife sets in retail containers after their release from Customs custody, a repackaging certificate as detailed in 19 CFR 134.26(a) will be required. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 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 Kristopher Burton at kristopher.burton@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division