COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED STEEL PIPE FITTING.

NY G81797 September 21, 2000 MAR-2 RR:NC:1:117 G81797 CATEGORY: MARKING Ms. Tanya A. Griffin Jerold W. Hilary, Attorney at Law 9250 S.W. Tigard Street Tigard, Oregon 97223 RE: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF IMPORTED STEEL PIPE FITTING. Dear Ms. Griffin: This is in response to your letter dated August 10, 2000 on behalf of Tompkins Industries, Inc. requesting a ruling on the country of origin marking requirements for pipe, tube or pipe fittings of iron or steel. A marked sample was submitted with your letter for review. The product to be imported is a forged steel elbow pipe fitting marked “China”. You state that the country of origin is marked using permanent stenciling. 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. 19 U.S.C. 1304(c)(1), requires that all pipe (iron, steel, stainless steel), tube and pipe fittings (steel, stainless steel, chrome-moly steel or cast or malleable iron) shall be marked to indicate the proper country of origin by one of five methods, die stamping, cast-in-mold lettering, etching, engraving, or continuous paint stenciling. 19 U.S.C. 1304(c)(2), provides that if, because of the nature of an article, it is technically or commercially infeasible to mark by one of the five prescribed methods, the article may be marked by an equally permanent method of marking or in the case of small diameter pipe, tube or pipe fittings, by tagging the containers or bundles. The marking on the submitted sample was easily removed with an eraser. Therefore, the proposed method of marking, as described above, does not satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304(c) and is not an acceptable country of origin marking for the imported steel pipe fittings. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 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 Paula Ilardi at 212-637-7016. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division