Country of origin marking of imported ladies' blousesdesigned to be worn with either side as the front

HQ 732884 March 5, 1990 MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 732884 KG CATEGORY: Marking Scott A. Cohn Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz & Silverman 12 East 49th Street New York, N.Y. 10017 RE: Country of origin marking of imported ladies' blouses designed to be worn with either side as the front Dear Mr. Cohn: This is in response to your letter of November 9, 1989, requesting a country of origin ruling regarding imported ladies' blouses designed to be worn with either side as the front. FACTS: Your client imports printed ladies' blouses designed to be worn with either side as the front. You submitted two samples for examination. The first sample has a scoop neck on one side and a V-neck with buttons on the other side. This blouse is designed to be worn with either the scoop neck or the V-neck in the front. The garment has a fabric label attached to the inseam about 1 1/2 inches from the neck with the phrase "Made in China" appearing in the center of the label. The second sample has a scoop neck on one side and a lower scoop neck with buttons on the other side. This blouse is also designed to be worn with either side as the front of the garment. A fabric label is attached to the inseam about 1 inch from the bottom of the garment. The phrase "Made in China" appears in the center of the label. ISSUE: Whether the two imported ladies' blouses designed to be worn with either side as the front as described above are properly marked with the country of origin. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the U.S. 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 in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. The Court of International Trade stated in Koru North America v. United States, 701 F.Supp. 229, 12 CIT (CIT 1988), that: "In ascertaining what constitutes the country of origin under the marking statute, a court must look at the sense in which the term is used in the statute, giving reference to the purpose of the particular legislation involved. The purpose of the marking statute is outlined in United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 CCPA 297, 302 C.A.D. 104 (1940), where the court stated that: "Congress intended that the ultimate purchaser should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will." Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), requires that the marking be conspicuous enough that ultimate purchaser will be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. Customs ruled in T.D. 54640(6) that shirts, blouses and sweaters must be marked by means of a fabric label sewn on the inside center of the neck midway between the shoulder seams or in that immediate area. Nevertheless, Customs has allowed some leeway for reversible garments that are otherwise conspicuously and legibly marked. For instance, you cited HQ 729107 (November 13, 1985), in which Customs allowed a reversible women's t-shirt with a V-neck on one side and a scoop neck on the other side to be marked with a label sewn into a side seam. Customs also ruled in HQ 731600 (November 15, 1988) that a reversible top could be marked with a fabric label sewn somewhere else than the neck as long as the location was conspicuous. However, in that instance, a label sewn into the side seam about 4 1/2 inches from the bottom of the sweater and several inches above the knitted waistband was not found to be a conspicuous location. In this instance, the first sample does have a label sewn into a conspicuous location that an ultimate purchaser could easily find and read. The label is only about 1 1/2 inches from the center of the neck and an ultimate purchaser looking for the country of origin, fabric content, the size of the garment and on the reverse, the laundry instructions, would find this label. Because the fabric label is conspicuously located, sample one satisfies 19 CFR 134.41(b). The fabric label on sample two, however, would be difficult to find and would require the ultimate purchaser to search for it. In fact, the manufacturer places a large label with the brand name on the top of the garment, just under a shoulder. The fabric label with the country of origin marking is about 1 inch by 3/4 of an inch and is not conspicuously located. Therefore, sample two does not satisfy 19 CFR 134.41(b). To determine if these garments satisfy the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. 70), you must contact the Federal Trade Commission. HOLDING: Sample one, which is a ladies' blouse designed to be worn with either side as the front of the garment and which has a fabric label containing the country of origin sewn into a side seam about 1 1/2 inches from the neck, satisfies 19 CFR 134.41(b). However, sample two, which is a ladies' blouse designed to be worn with either side as the front and which has a fabric label containing the country of origin sewn into a side seam about 1 inch from the bottom of the garment, does not satisfy 19 CFR 134.41(b). Sincerely, Marvin M. Amernick Chief, Value, Special Programs and Admissibility Branch