The country of origin marking of mechanical pencils from Mexico and France

N334282 August 7, 2023 MAR-2:OT:RR:NC:4: 462 CATEGORY: Marking Donald Stein Greenberg Traurig, LLP 2101 L Street, NW, Suite 1000Washington, DC 20037 RE: The country of origin marking of mechanical pencils from Mexico and France Dear Mr. Stein: This is in response to your letter, dated July 27, 2023, requesting a ruling on the country of origin marking of mechanical pencils. You outline a scenario wherein: the pencils, although being imported from Mexico, will be manufactured in both France and Mexico. The French origin pencils will be sent to Mexico in bulk, placed into inventory in BIC’s Mexican facility, and commingled with Mexican origin pencils. The mechanical pencils will then be taken from inventory, packaged in Mexico, and shipped to the United States where they will be imported by BIC. Each individual pencil will be marked with its country of origin (but such marking may not be visible through the retail packaging). Further, you state that, when packaged for retail sale, it is anticipated that most packages will contain both French and Mexican origin pencils (the number of each may vary). However, it is possible (depending on the individual pencils pulled from inventory) that, in some instances, a package will contain only French origin pencils, or only Mexican origin pencils. Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. §1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the United States 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 United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. By enacting 19 U.S.C. §1304, Congress intended to ensure “that the ultimate purchaser would be able to know by inspecting the marking on the imported goods the country of which the goods are the product. The evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such marking should influence his will.” United States v. Friedlaender & Co., 27 C.C.P.A. 297, 302 (1940). In the past, CBP has allowed conjunctive marking schemes, when a product is made up of commingled fungible goods with more than one country of origin. See HQ 560776, dated May 4, 1999; HQ 559849, dated December 6, 1996; HQ 558647, dated November 30, 1994; HQ 734165, dated December 2, 1991. In HQ 734165, CBP considered the marking requirements for LEGO sets whose pieces were fungible, and came from Denmark, Sweden, and the USA. CBP found that the marking “Made in Denmark, Sweden, and the USA” was acceptable, as long as the sets contained pieces from all three countries. For boxes containing mechanical pencils that are only from Mexico, the box must be marked with “Made in Mexico” or similar language. For boxes containing mechanical pencils that are only from France, box must be marked with “Made in France” or similar language. . For boxes containing mechanical pencils from both Mexico and France, the box must be marked with “Made in Mexico and France” or similar language. With regard to the requirements for CBP Form 7501, we direct you to the CBP Form 7501 Instructions which provide guidance on when an entry summary covers merchandise from more than one country of origin. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs and Border Protection Regulations (19 C.F.R. 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, please contact National Import Specialist Sandra Sary at [email protected]. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division