THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF COSMETIC COMPACTS FROM KOREA.

NY E85599 August 13, 1999 MAR-2 RR:NC:SP:221 E85599 CATEGORY: MARKING Mr. Felipe Angel AG Customs House Brokers 9320 Bellanca Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90045 RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF COSMETIC COMPACTS FROM KOREA. Dear Mr. Angel: This is in response to your letter dated August 5, 1999, on behalf of Jordana Cosmetics Corporation, requesting a ruling on whether the marking on their imported cosmetic compacts is acceptable country of origin marking. Marked samples were submitted with your letter for review. The samples submitted with your request are hinged compacts, injection molded from plastics materials. The compact consists of a compartmented, opaque bottom and a clear lid. After importation, the compacts will be filled with eyeshadows which are manufactured in the United States. The lid is imprinted with the name and logo of the cosmetics company as well as with the words “Made in USA.” Section 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 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 in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. Section 134.1(d), Customs Regulations [19 C.F.R. §134.1(d)], defines “ultimate purchaser” as “generally the last person in the United States who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported.” Section 134.24(b), Customs Regulations [19 C.F.R. §134.24(b)], provides that disposable containers, not designed or capable of reuse, which are imported empty and packed and sold in multiple units, need not be individually marked with the country of origin. The marking requirements may be met by marking the outermost container which reaches the ultimate purchaser. The company who packages the cosmetics into the compacts is considered to be the ultimate purchaser of the compacts. Therefore, the compacts may beexcepted from individual marking provided the shipping containers in which they are imported are marked to indicate the country of origin of the compacts, and the Customs officers at the port of entry are satisfied that the shipping containers will reach the ultimate purchaser unopened. Though the compacts are marked "Made in USA," such marking relates to the origin of the cosmetics which are to be packaged in the compacts, and not to the compacts themselves, since the compacts will lose their identity as a separate article of commerce after they are filled. The marking will not be considered misleading or deceptive, provided that the Customs officers at the port of entry are satisfied that the cosmetics to be packaged in the compacts are in fact manufactured in the United States. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. Part 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 Joan Mazzola at 212-637-7034. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division