Country of origin marking; Assembled in; Designed in

 HQ W562104 April 27, 2001 MAR-2-05 RR:CR:SM W562096 MLR CATEGORY: Marking Ms. Norma Decker Morningstar Corp. 1098 Washington Crossing Road Washington Crossing, PA 18977 RE: Country of origin marking; Assembled in; Designed in Dear Ms. Decker: This is in reference to your facsimile of April 20, 2001, and letter of March 27, 2001, concerning the country of origin marking requirements of solar charge controllers. FACTS: You state that you are a supplier of solar charge controllers. The products are designed in the U.S., and assembled in Singapore using globally sourced components. You wish to label the containers "Designed in USA, Assembled in Singapore." In a telephone conversation, you indicated this label would also be placed next to a U.S. address. ISSUE: Whether the containers may be labeled "Designed in USA, Assembled in Singapore." LAW AND ANALYSIS: 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. Section 134.46 provides that: In any case 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 location 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 appear 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 of the article, 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. Customs has ruled that in order to satisfy the close proximity requirement, the country of origin marking must appear on the same side(s) or surface(s) in which the name of the locality other than the country of origin appears (See Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 708994, dated April 24, 1978). For purposes of this ruling, we are assuming that the country of origin of the solar charge controllers is Singapore. In Treasury Decision (T.D.) 97-72, published in the Federal Register on August 20, 1997, (62 FR 44211), Customs pointed out that references to the U.S. made in the context of a statement relating to any aspect of the production or distribution of the products, such as "Designed in U.S.A.," "Made for XYZ Corp, California, U.S.A." or "Distributed by ABC Inc., Colorado, U.S.A." are misleading to the ultimate purchaser and would trigger the country of origin marking requirements of 19 C.F.R. §134.46. In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 734144 dated July 5, 1991, Customs held that a label marked "Designed in U.S.A." with the words "Made in (Country of Origin)" in close proximity and in the same size and color as the words "Designed in U.S.A." satisfied the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR134.46 so long as the words "Made in (Country of Origin)" are legible, conspicuous and permanent.  Section 134.43(e) also provides that where an article is produced as a result of an assembly operation, and the country of origin is determined to the country in which the article was finally assembled, the article may be marked either "Assembled in", "Made in," or "Product of (country of final assembly). Therefore, in regard to the solar charge controllers, because the origin is Singapore, and the final assembly of the article takes place in Singapore, we, find that the marking "Designed in USA, Assembled in Singapore" would be acceptable, provided this marking also appears in close proximity and in at least the same size as the U.S. address. Customs at the port of entry must be satisfied that the articles will reach the U.S. ultimate purchasers in the properly marked containers. HOLDING: Based on the information provided, the container in which the solar charge controllers reaches the ultimate purchaser may be marked "Designed in USA, Assembled in Singapore", provided this marking also appears in close proximity and in at least the same size as the U.S. address. A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction. Sincerely, John Durant, Director Commercial Rulings Division