Determination of the country of origin and origin marking of fishing line.Dear Mr. Pillsbury:

NY L86247 September 28, 2005 MAR-2 RR:NC:2:224 L86247 CATEGORY: MARKING Taylor Pillsbury Meeks, Sheppard & Pillsbury 100 Newport Center Drive Suite 220 Newport Beach CA 92660 RE: Determination of the country of origin and origin marking of fishing line. Dear Mr. Pillsbury: This is in response to your letter dated August 5, 2005 on behalf of Shakespeare Corporation requesting a ruling on the country of origin and proposed marking of imported fishing line. You state that Shakespeare intends to import variations of its “Cajun” brand fishing line. The synthetic monofilament line for each product variation is manufactured by Shakespeare in the United States from nylon and other polyamides. The monofilament line is exported to China in bulk packed spools whereupon the bulk rolls are re-spooled on to smaller retail consumer spools holding anywhere from 100 meters to 274 meters of line, depending on the product variation. The consumer spools will be packaged in China for retail sale and imported to the United States. 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. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134) implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. We first must determine the country of origin of the merchandise. Section 134.1(b) of the Customs Regulations defines the term “country of origin” as the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the U.S. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the “country of origin” within the meaning of the marking laws and regulations. A substantial transformation occurs when articles lose their identity and become new articles having a new name, character, or use. United States v. Gibson-Thomsen Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 267 at 270 (1940). In our opinion, no substantial transformation has occurred in China as a result of the re-spooling of the bulk rolls of monofilament line on to smaller retail spools. The process of converting line from bulk spools to spools ready for retail sale to consumers does not cause the article to lose its identity as monofilament fishing line, that is, the “name” and “use” of the article is not transformed by the spooling process or, for that matter, the packaging process performed in China. The subject line is exported from the U.S. to China as fishing line and the re-spooling and packaging done in China fails to transform the line into something other than line. Thus, the exported fishing line has not been substantially transformed in China for country of origin/marking purposes. The country of origin of the U.S. produced fishing line remains unchanged. The product is not subject to country of the origin marking requirements. You note in your request that you would like to mark on the retail packaging of the imported spools of fishing line the phrase “(M)anufactured in USA, Spooled and Packaged in China.” However, questions regarding the acceptability of such a marking on the imported fishing line must be decided by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Division of Enforcement. The FTC has jurisdiction under statutes when a “Made in USA” claim can be made and must decide whether or not such a marking is appropriate on the finished fishing line package. 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 Tom McKenna at 646-733-3025. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division