Marking Country of Origin at LAWDOG® Center

Country of Origin Marking

Under 19 U.S.C. Section 1304, every article of foreign origin (or its container, as provided herein) imported into the United States must be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit in such manner as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article.

The Secretary of the Treasury may by regulations determine the character of words and phrases or abbreviations thereof which shall be acceptable as indicating the country of origin and prescribe any reasonable method of marking, whether by printing, stenciling, stamping, branding, labeling, or by any other reasonable method, and a conspicuous place on the article (or container) where the marking shall appear, require the addition of any other words or symbols which may be appropriate to prevent deception or mistake as to the origin of the article or as to the origin of any other article with which such imported article is usually combined subsequent to importation but before delivery to an ultimate purchaser; and authorize the exception of any article from the requirements of marking if such article is incapable of being marked, such article cannot be marked prior to shipment to the United States without injury; or such article cannot be marked prior to shipment to the United States except at an expense economically prohibitive of its importation.

See 19 U.S.C. Section 1304

Marking of Country of Origin

Every imported article not produced in the United States must be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as nature of article permits, with English name of country of origin, to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in United States the name of country in which article was manufactured or produced. Articles which are otherwise specifically exempted from individual marking are an exception to this rule. The exceptions are discussed below.

Marking Required

If the article (or the container when the container and not the article must be marked) is not properly marked at the time of importation, a marking duty equal to 10 percent of the customs value of the article will be assessed unless the article is exported, destroyed, or properly marked under Customs supervision before the liquidation of the entry concerned.

It is not feasible to state who will be the "ultimate purchaser" in every circumstance. Broadly stated, an "ultimate purchaser" may be defined as the last person in the United States who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. Generally, if an imported article will be used in the United States in manufacture that results in an article having a name, character or usage different from that of the imported article, the manufacturer is the ultimate purchaser. If an article is to be sold at retail in its imported form, the purchaser at retail is the ultimate purchaser. A person who subjects an imported article to a process which results in a substantial transformation of the article is the ultimate purchaser, but if the process is merely a minor one which leaves the identity of the imported article intact, the processor of the article will not be regarded as the ultimate purchaser.

When an article (or its container) is required to be marked to indicate its country of origin, the marking is sufficiently permanent if it will remain on the article (or its container) until it reaches the ultimate purchaser. When an article is of a kind which is usually combined with another article subsequent to importation but before delivery to an ultimate purchaser, and the name indicating the article's country of origin appears in a place on the article so that the name will be visible after such combining, the marking shall include, in addition to the name of the country of origin, words or symbols which clearly show that the origin indicated is that of the imported article only and not that of any other article with which the imported article may be combined after importation. For example, if marked bottles, drums, or other containers are imported empty, to be filled in the United States, they shall be marked with such words as "Bottle (or drum or container) made in (name of country)." Labels and similar articles so marked that the name of the article's country of origin is visible after it is affixed to another article in this country shall be marked with additional descriptive words such as "label made (or printed) in (name of country)" or words of similar import.

In any case in which the words "United States" or "American" or the letters "U.S.A." or any variation of such words or letters, or the name of any city or locality in the United States, or the name of any foreign country or locality in which the article was not manufactured or produced, appear on an imported article or container, there shall appear, legibly and permanently, in close proximity to such words, letters or name, the name of the country of origin preceded by "Made in," "Product of," or other words of similar meaning.

If marked articles are to be repacked in the United States after release from Customs custody, importers must certify on entry that they will not obscure the marking on properly marked articles if the article is repacked or that they will mark the repacked container. If the importers do not repack, but resell to repackers, importers must notify the repackers of the marking requirements. Failure to comply with the certification requirements may subject importers to penalties and/or additional duties.

Outermost Containers Must Be Marked

The following articles and classes or kinds of articles are not required to be marked to indicate the country of their origin, i.e., the country in which they were grown, manufactured, or produced. However, the outermost containers in which these articles ordinarily reach the ultimate purchaser in the United States must be marked to indicate the English name of the country of origin of the articles.

Art, works of. Bands, steel. Beads, unstrung. Bearings, ball, 5/8-inch or less in diameter. Blanks, metal, to be plated. Briarwood, in blocks.
Briquettes, coal or coke.
Buckles, 1 inch or less in greatest dimension. Burlap. Buttons. Cards, playing.
Eggs. Feathers.
Firewood.
Flowers, artificial, except bunches.
Flowers, cut.
Hairnets.

marking requirements

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Unless an article being shipped to the United States is specifically named in the foregoing list, it would be advisable for an exporter to obtain advice from U.S. Customs before concluding that it is exempted from marking. If articles on the foregoing list are repacked in the United States, the new packages must be labeled to indicate the country of origin of the articles contained therein. Importers must certify on entry that, if they repackage, they will properly mark the repackaged containers; if they do not package, but resell to repackagers, notification of the marking requirements will be given to such repackagers. Failure to comply with the certification requirements may subject importers to penalties and marking duties.

OTHER EXCEPTIONS

The following classes of articles are also excepted from marking to indicate the country of their origin. (The usual container in which one of these articles is imported will also be excepted from marking.):

* An article imported for use by the importer and not intended for sale in its imported or any other form.

* An article which is to be processed in the United States by the importer or for his account otherwise than for the purpose of concealing the origin of the article and in such manner that any mark of origin would necessarily be obliterated, destroyed, or permanently concealed.

* An article with respect to which an ultimate purchaser in the United States, by reason of the character of the article, or by reason of the circumstances of its importation, must necessarily know the country of origin even though the article is not marked to indicate its origin. The clearest application of this exemption is when the contract between the ultimate purchaser in the United States and the supplier abroad insures that the order will be filled only with articles grown, manufactured, or produced in a named country.

The following classes of articles are also excepted from marking to indicate the country of their origin:

Articles that are incapable of being marked, Articles that cannot be marked prior to shipment to the United States without injury, Articles that cannot be marked prior to shipment to the United States, except at an expense economically prohibitive of their importation. Articles for which the marking of the containers will reasonably indicate the origin of the articles. Crude substances. Articles produced more than 20 years prior to their importation into the United States. Articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse for immediate exportation or for transportation and exportation.

Although such articles are exempted from marking to indicate their country of origin, the outermost containers in which the articles will ordinarily reach the ultimate purchaser in the United States must be marked to show the country of origin of such articles.

When marking the article's container will reasonably indicate the article's country of origin, the article itself may be exempt from such marking. This exemption applies only when the articles will reach the ultimate purchaser in an unopened container. For example, articles which reach the retail purchaser in sealed containers marked clearly to indicate the country of origin come within this exception. Materials to be used in building or manufacture by the builder or manufacturer who will receive the materials in unopened cases likewise come within the exemption. The following articles, as well as their containers, are excepted from marking to indicate the country of their origin:

Products of American fisheries that are free of duty, Products of possessions of the United States, Products of the United States exported and returned, Articles valued at not more than $5 that are passed without entry. Special country-of-origin marking rules for goods of a NAFTA country are addressed in Customs publication No. 571, NAFTA: A Guide to Customs Procedures.

Special MARKING Requirements

The country of origin marking requirements are separate and apart from any special marking or labeling required on specific products by other agencies. It is recommended that the specific agency be contacted for any special marking or labeling requirements. Certain articles are subject to special country of origin marking requirements

Iron and steel pipe and pipe fittings; manhole rings, frames, or covers; and compressed gas cylinders must generally be marked by one of four methods: die-stamped, cast-in-mold lettering, etching (acid or electrolytic) or engraving.

In addition, none of the exceptions from marking discussed above are applicable to iron and steel pipe and pipe fittings. The following articles and parts thereof shall be marked legibly and conspicuously to indicate their origin by die-stamping, cast-in-the-mold lettering, etching (acid or electrolytic), engraving, or by means of metal plates that bear the prescribed marking and that are securely attached to the article in a conspicuous place by welding, screws, or rivets: