THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AND THE WORDING OF THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF AVALUNGS FROM CHINA

N025605 May 1, 2008 MAR-2 OT:RR:NC:N1:105 CATEGORY: MARKING Ms. Zoe Greye Black Diamond Equipment 2084 East 3900 South Salt Lake City, UT 84124 RE: THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AND THE WORDING OF THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING OF AVALUNGS FROM CHINA Dear Ms. Greye: This is in response to your undated letter, received here April 2, 2008, requesting a ruling on whether one of the proposed marking as indicated below is an acceptable country of origin marking for imported AvaLungs. A marked sample was not submitted with your letter for review. You did submit a sample in the current packaging with a Made in USA sticker. We agree that the country of origin of the AvaLungs will be China in the new scenario you describe. They will be assembled in China using a USA valve box and tubing. The rest of the components (including the textile harness/bag) will be products of China. You proposed 4 different statements that you propose making on the retail packaging to describe its origin. It is clear that the AvaLung will remain in that retail packaging until received by the ultimate purchaser, i.e., the skier, etc. We note the most relevant portion of Headquarters Ruling Letter 968120 ASM, 5-17-06: “CBP has similarly approved central country of origin markings that specify the country of origin of the assembled good along with identification that component parts are from a separate country of origin, in the following rulings: …; HQ 733981, dated June 3,1991 ("Assembled In Mexico; "Switch Made in USA"); HQ 559261, dated February 13, 1996 (the country of origin must be set forth first in the order of presentation, if used in combination with component origin information)…” Since your fourth option, “Assembled in China of US and Chinese components” is the only one that immediately indicates the Chinese origin with no intervening words, we believe that is the only one of that is acceptable. This is not to say that that is the only possible statement that would be acceptable, but only that it is the only one which is acceptable of the four options you proposed. 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. As provided in section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), the country of origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. 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. However, section 134.44, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.44), generally provides that any marking that is sufficiently permanent so that it will remain on the article until it reaches the ultimate purchaser unless deliberately removed is acceptable. The proposed marking of imported AvaLung, as described above, if conspicuously, legibly and permanently marked in satisfaction of the marking requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134, is an acceptable country of origin marking. 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 J. Sheridan at 646-733-3012. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division