THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF STEEL REBARS FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

NY H84270 August 2, 2001 MAR-2 RR:NC:1:117 H84270 CATEGORY: MARKING Mr. Rene Ortiz Villafane Rene Ortiz Villafane, Inc. 2000 Kennedy Ave. MAI Basic Four Center, Suite 207 P.O. Box 9022562 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00902-2562 RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF STEEL REBARS FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Dear Mr. Villafane: This is in response to your letter dated June 27, 2001 on behalf of Hardware Wholesalers Inc., requesting a ruling on whether the marking you propose to indicate the name of the country of origin for imported steel rebars is acceptable. A marked sample was not submitted with your letter for review. The products to be imported are steel rebars made to ASTM Specification A 615, the Standard Specification for Deformed and Plain Billet-Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement. You ask whether marking the bars with the legend “DOMINICAN REP.” will satisfy the marking requirements of section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930. 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. Steel concrete reinforcement bars must be individually marked with the name of the country of their origin. With regard to articles produced in the Dominican Republic, the following abbreviations have been held to be acceptable to indicate the name of the country of origin: Dom. Republic and Dominican Rep. Your proposed abbreviation is therefore acceptable for indicating that the rebars are products of the Dominican Republic. With regard to the permanency of a marking, section 134.41(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(a)), provides that as a general rule marking requirements are best met by marking worked into the article at the time of manufacture. For example, it is suggested that the country of origin on metal articles be die sunk, molded in, or etched. The proposed marking of imported rebars, as described above, if conspicuous, legible and permanent, will satisfy the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134. 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