Country of origin marking of a glass chimney; 19 CFR 134.46.

HQ 734748 December 16, 1992 MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 734748 KR CATEGORY: Marking Lynn M. Gomez Midwest Customs Services of Wisconsin, Inc. P.O. Box 905 631 North Central Ave. Wood Dale, IL 60191-0905 RE: Country of origin marking of a glass chimney; 19 CFR 134.46. Dear Ms. Gomez: This is in response to your letter dated July 23, 1992, requesting a ruling concerning the proper country of origin marking of a glass chimney which is made in Portugal and is imported by Boda Nova. A sample of a glass chimney was submitted for examination. FACTS: The glass chimney is made in Portugal and has two adhesive labels attached to the glass, one directly above the other on the top and bottom rims. The top adhesive label is a clear label with black lettering and reads: Boda Shop Sweden The bottom adhesive label is a white label with black lettering in larger print type than the above label and reads: made in PORTUGAL ISSUE: Whether the proposed marking on the glass chimney described above satisfies the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR 134.46. 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. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. 19 CFR 134.46, requires that when the name of any city or locality in the U.S., or the name of any foreign country or locality other than the name of the country or locality in which the article was manufactured or produced, appear on a imported article or its container, 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. HQ 708994 (April 24, 1978). The purpose of 19 CFR 134.46 is to prevent the possibility of misleading or deceiving the ultimate purchaser as to the origin of the imported article. In this case, the adhesive labels are in close proximity and the label with the country of origin marking has the words "made in" preceding Portugal. The name "PORTUGAL" appears in larger type face than the name Sweden. Therefore, the glass chimney is acceptably marked pursuant to 19 CFR 134.46. HOLDING: The country of origin marking appearing on the glass chimney is sufficient to meet the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304, and 19 CFR 134.46. Sincerely, John Durant, Director