Country of origin marking requirements for concrete interlocking pavestones

HQ 731335 July 28, 1988 MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 731335 jd CATEGORY: Marking Mr. Marcel Claude Raymond Vice President - Finance MONTCO Ltee 8140 rue Bombardier Ville d'Anjou (Quebec) H1J 1A4 RE: Country of origin marking requirements for concrete interlocking pavestones Dear Mr. Raymond: This is in response to your letter of March 23, 1988, requesting a ruling on the country of origin marking requirements applicable to concrete interlocking pavestones. FACTS: According to your submission, you manufacture concrete interlocking pavestones in Canada and you expect to export these pavestones to the U.S. for wholesale distribution. The pavestones are strapped into sections with steel bands stamped "Made in Canada" and five sections are strapped into cubes and shipped on skids. The pavestones will be sold by your distributors to final users in strapped sections. Your are aware of Legal Determination 3541-19 concerning the country of origin marking of pavestones and ask if that LD, which approved the marking of the metal straps around sections, is still in force. ISSUES: May steel bands used to secure concrete interlocking pavestones be considered a container for purposes of country of origin marking regulations? Is it acceptable to mark the pavestones' containers rather than each individual pavestone with the country of origin? LAW AND ANALYSIS: With regard to the first issue, { 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304) requires that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into - 2 - the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser the English name of the country of origin of the article. As you are aware, Customs has previously ruled that metal strapping used to secure pavestones would be considered a container for purposes of complying with the marking regulations (709337 JB, October 23, 1978 [published as C.S.D. 79-205]; 700935, December 5, 1972). Those rulings are still in effect and we take this opportunity to reiterate that metal straps used to secure sections of concrete interlocking pavestones may be considered a container under the marking laws and regulations. Once it has been determined that the metal straps are considered containers, we turn to the second issue - may the containers be marked to indicate country of origin rather than individual marking on each pavestone. Section 134.32(d), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.32(d)), provides that articles for which the marking of the containers will reasonably indicate the origin of the articles are exempt from the requirement of individual country of origin marking. Accordingly, the pavestones may be excepted from individual country of origin marking provided the metal straps binding each section are legibly and conspicuously marked to indicate the country of origin and Customs officers at ports of entry are satisfied the pavestones will reach ultimate purchasers in the U.S. in bound sections. HOLDING: In view of the above considerations, the metal straps around sections of concrete interlocking pavestones are considered containers for country of origin marking purposes. The pavestones are exempt from individual marking provided the marking on the straps around sections is legible, indelible, permanent and conspicuous and remains visible after the sections are bound into cubes. Sincerely, Marvin M. Amernick Chief, Value, Special Programs and Admissibility Branch 1cc: CO:R:C:V:JDOYLE:LDC:7/26/88 Mr. Marcel Claude Raymond Vice President - Finance MONTCO Ltee 8140 rue Bombardier Ville d'anjou (Quebec) H1J 1A4