HQ 734876

May 6, 1993

MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 734876 ER

CATEGORY: MARKING

Frank J. Schuchat, Esq.

Robert P. Parker, Esq.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison

1615 L Street, NW

Washington, DC 20036-5694

RE: Country of Origin Marking; Jackets; Conspicuous; Location;

Label; TD 54640(6); 19 CFR 134.46; 19 CFR 134.47; Comparable

Size; U.S. Reference Part of Design of Garment.

Dear Messrs. Schuchat and Parker:

This is in response to your letter dated October 2, 1992, on

behalf of your client, Nirock International, Inc. (\"Nirock\"), in

which you request a ruling concerning the country of origin

marking requirements for certain imported jackets.

FACTS:

Nirock, an importer of fashion apparel and accessories,

plans to import jackets made in China that have sewn-in labels

bearing the logo \"GANT American Collection.\" The logo labels

will be permanently affixed to the inside of the jacket\'s collar,

immediately above the country of origin label. The country of

origin label will be permanently affixed to the inside of the

collar, halfway between the shoulder seams, such that the origin

notice is facing outward \-- that is, the country of origin is

visible without manipulation of the label. The garment care

label will be underneath the country of origin label. A larger

\"GANT American Collection\" insignia will be embroidered on the

back panel of the jacket as part of the design of the garment.

The lettering on the country of origin label is in block

style and measures approximately 1/8 inch in height. The legend,

\"Made in China\", measures approximately 7/8 inch in length. The

lettering in the words \"American Collection\" on the logo label

designed to appear in the neck area of the jacket is in script

style and measures approximately 1/8 inch in height and

approximately 2.5 inches in length. The letters \"A\", \"C\" and the

\"l\'s\" are twice the height of any letter in the origin label.

You state that the lettering to be embroidered on the back panel

of the jacket measures approximately 1/4 inch in height. Samples

of the logo label for the neck area of the garment, garment care

instructions and country of origin label were submitted with the

ruling request. No sample was received of the embroidered jacket

with labels attached.

ISSUE:

What are the country of origin marking requirements for

jackets imported from China which feature the words \"GANT

American Collection\" on a label attached in the inside neck

area of the jacket as well as on the rear panel of the jacket?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Section 304 of the 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 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 the

article. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134), implements

the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19

U.S.C. 1304.

The primary purpose of the country of origin marking statute

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, C.A.D. 104 (1940). 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 is able to find the marking easily and read it without

strain. Section 134.1(d), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(d))

defines the \"ultimate purchaser\" generally as the last person in

the United States who will receive the article in the form in

which it was imported.

Relevant to your inquiry is whether the words \"GANT American

Collection\" embroidered on the rear panel of the jacket and

appearing on a label to be attached in the neck area of the

jacket are potentially misleading to the ultimate purchaser as to

the actual country of origin of the imported article. In cases

where a reference to a locality other than the country of origin

appears on imported merchandise, special marking requirements set

forth in sections 134.46 and 134.47, Customs Regulations (19 CFR

134.46 and 19 CFR 134.47) may be triggered. The purpose of both

provisions is the same, namely to prevent the ultimate purchaser

from being misled or deceived when the name of a country or place

other than the country of origin appears on an imported article

or its container. The critical difference between the two

provisions is that section 134.46, Customs Regulations (19 CFR

134.46) requires that the name of the actual country of origin

appear \"in close proximity\" to such words and in lettering of at

least comparable size. By contrast, section 134.47, Customs

Regulations (19 CFR 134.47) is less stringent, providing that

when as part of a trade name, trademark or souvenir mark, the

name of a location other than the country of origin appears, the

name of the actual country of origin must appear in close

proximity or \"in some other conspicuous location\". In other

words, the latter provision triggers only a general standard of

conspicuousness. In either case, the name of the country of

origin must be preceded by \"Made in\", \"Product of\", or other

similar words.

No information was provided regarding the application of 19

CFR 134.47, hence, for purposes of this ruling we will assume

that the words \"GANT American Collection\" are not part of a trade

mark or trade name. Consequently, the more stringent standard of

conspicuousness of 19 CFR 134.46 applies. In your submission you

state that the \"GANT American Collection\" label destined for the

neck area will be featured one inch above the country of origin

label and in lettering of equal size. Affixed in this manner,

you assert that the country of origin label displaying the words

\"Made in China\" is visible without any manipulation of labels.

This is the requisite location for country of origin labels for

shirts, t-shirts, jackets and the like, as described in T.D.

54640(6). Therefore, based on your description that the country

of origin label will be affixed in the inside center of the neck

area, midway between the shoulder seams or in that immediate

area, we find that the location requirement is satisfied.

However, a comparison of the lettering size on the country

of origin label and the words \"American Collection\" on the logo

label destined for the neck area, reveals that the comparable

size lettering requirement set forth in 19 CFR 134.46 is not met.

While some of the letters in the country of origin legend and the

logo are of the same height, the overall effect is that the words

\"American Collection\" are much more visible than are the words

\"Made in China\". This is because the words \"American Collection\"

are featured in a slanted script style and are more widely spaced

than the block style letters in the country of origin label.

Also, the letters \"A\", \"C\" and the \"l\'s\" are twice the height of

any letter in the origin label. Consequently, to comply with 19

CFR 134.46, either the letters in the country of origin label

will have to be enlarged to be at least comparable in size

(height and width) to those in the logo, or the letters in the

logo will have to be reduced to be no larger (height and width)

than the letters in the country of origin.

Customs finds that the \"GANT American Collection\" insignia

(to be embroidered on the rear panel of the jacket) is part of

the design of the garment and falls within the ambit of those

cases distinguished by Customs where reference to a country or a

locality other than the country of origin on an imported article

(or its container) is found unlikely to confuse the ultimate

purchaser as to the country of origin of the article. For

example, in HQ 723604 (November 3, 1983) and HQ 712013 (January

16, 1980), Customs determined that the letters \"USA\" displayed on

imported men\'s bikini-style swimming trunks did not trigger the

requirements of 19 CFR 134.46 because such marking was used as a

symbol or decoration and would not be reasonably construed as

indicating the country of origin of the article on which it

appeared. See also, HQ 733259 (August 3, 1990) and HQ 733695

(January 15, 1991).

HOLDING:

The \"Gant American Collection\" insignia appearing on the

back panel of the imported jackets is part of the design of the

garments and does not trigger application of 19 CFR 134.46.

However, the logo, \"American Collection\", featured on the label

inside the neck/shoulder area of the garments does trigger the

requirements described in 19 CFR 134.46. In order to meet these

these requirements, the country of origin label or the logo

inside the neck/shoulder area of the garment must be altered to

comply with the comparable letter size standard, as described

above in the ruling.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

Commercial Rulings Division