[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 221 (Thursday, November 16, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57621-57622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-28265]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Customs Service
Country of Origin Marking Requirements for Wearing Apparel
AGENCY: Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.
ACTION: Proposed change of practice; solicitation of comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that Customs proposes to change
the practice regarding the country of origin marking of wearing
apparel. Customs previously has ruled that wearing apparel, such as
shirts, blouses, coats, sweaters, etc., must be marked with the name of
the country of origin by means of a fabric label or label made from
natural or synthetic film sewn or otherwise permanently affixed on the
inside center of the neck midway between the shoulder seams or in that
immediate area or otherwise permanently marked in that area in
[[Page 57622]]
some other manner. Button tags, string tags and other hang tags, paper
labels and other similar methods of marking are not acceptable. The
proposed change set forth herein would evaluate the marking of such
wearing apparel on a case-by-case basis in order to determine whether
the requirements of 19 U.S.C. 1304 are satisfied.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 16, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Written comments (preferably in triplicate) may be addressed
to the Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings, U.S.
Customs Service, Franklin Court, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, D.C. 20229. Comments submitted may be inspected at the
Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings, U.S. Customs
Service, Franklin Court, 1099 14th Street NW., Suite 4000, Washington,
D.C.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Monika Rice, Special Classification
and Marking Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings (202-482-6980).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
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 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.
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 CCPA 297, 302, C.A.D. 104 (1940). The clear
language of section 1304 requires ``permanent'' and ``conspicuous''
marking, and to this end 19 CFR 134.41 provides, in part, that the
degree of permanence should be at least sufficient to insure that in
any reasonably foreseeable circumstance, the marking shall remain on
the article until it reaches the ultimate purchaser unless it is
deliberately removed, and that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. must
be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain.
In T.D. 54640(6), 93 Treas. Dec. 301 (1958), Customs determined
that on and after October 1, 1958, wearing apparel, such as shirts,
blouses, coats, sweaters, etc., must be legibly and conspicuously
marked with the name of the country of origin by means of a fabric
label or label made from natural or synthetic film sewn or otherwise
permanently affixed on the inside center of the neck midway between the
shoulder seams or in that immediate area or otherwise permanently
marked in that area in some other manner. Button tags, string tags and
other hang tags, paper labels and other similar methods of marking were
not considered acceptable after October 1, 1958. The requirement in
T.D. 54640(6) that the country of origin marking should appear on the
inside center of the neck midway between the shoulder seams or in that
immediate area is consistent with the Textile Fiber Products
Identification Act as enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.
Subsequently, T.D. 55015(4), 95 Treas. Dec. 3 (1960), extended T.D.
54640(6), to allow the country of origin marking of reversible garments
to be looped around the hanger. On the basis of this extension, Customs
has allowed ladies reversible jackets to be marked with a cardboard
hang tag affixed to the neck area by means of a plastic anchor tag.
Customs noted that since the jacket was reversible, a fabric label sewn
into the jacket could damage the jacket when the label was removed.
Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 731513 dated November 15, 1988.
Similarly, in HRL 733890 dated December 31, 1990, Customs allowed
women's reversible silk tank tops to be marked with a cloth label,
showing the country of origin and other pertinent information sewn into
a lower side seam, and a hang tag which also provided the required
information attached at the neck. See also HRL 734889 dated June 22,
1993.
In order to allow more flexibility in achieving the objectives of
the marking statute, Customs is now proposing to change its position
and modify that portion of T.D. 54640(6) relating to the requirement of
a fabric label or label made from natural or synthetic film sewn to the
article, and the disallowance of button tags, string tags and other
hang tags, paper labels and other similar methods of marking. Rather,
Customs proposes to evaluate the country of origin marking of wearing
apparel, such as shirts, blouses, coats, sweaters, etc., on a case-by-
case basis to determine if it is conspicuous, legible, indelible, and
permanent to a degree sufficient enough to remain on the shirt until it
reaches the ultimate purchaser. The portion of T.D. 54640(6) relating
to the requirement of placing the country of origin marking at the
inside center of the neck of a shirt midway between the shoulder seams
or in that immediate area, shall remain in effect.
It should be noted that this proposed change in practice does not
exempt textile fiber products imported into the U.S. from the labeling
requirements of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act enforced
by the Federal Trade Commission.
Authority
This notice is published in accordance with Sec. 177.9, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR 177.9).
Comments
Before adopting this proposed change in position, consideration
will be given to any written comments timely submitted to Customs.
Comments submitted will be available for public inspection in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552),
Sec. 1.4, Treasury Department Regulations (31 CFR 1.4), and
Sec. 103.11(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 103.11(b)), on regular
business days between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the
Regulations Branch, Franklin Court, 1099 14th Street NW., Suite 4000,
Washington, DC.
George J. Weise,
Commissioner of Customs.
Approved: October 24, 1995.
Dennis M. O'Connell,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
[FR Doc. 95-28265 Filed 11-15-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P
