The marking rule comes from Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, codified at 19 USC 1304. In plain terms, every article of foreign origin imported into the United States must be marked, as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article permits, in a conspicuous place, in a way that tells the ultimate purchaser the English name of the country of origin. The operating manual for that statute is 19 CFR Part 134, which defines the terms, spells out acceptable marking methods, lists the exceptions, and describes exactly what CBP does when it finds goods that are not legally marked.
Two definitions decide most cases. Country of origin is where the goods were made or, for assembled goods, where they were substantially transformed into a new and different article. Ultimate purchaser is the last person in the United States who receives the article in its imported form. Get either one wrong and the mark is wrong, even if it is printed clearly and spelled correctly.
Conspicuous means the ultimate purchaser can find the mark without searching or taking the product apart. A mark hidden under a battery cover, inside a fold, or on a box that gets discarded fails this test. Legible means readable to the naked eye during normal handling: type too small, low contrast, or worn off in transit is not legible. Indelible and permanent means the mark survives normal handling all the way to the ultimate purchaser: an adhesive sticker that falls off, ink that rubs away, or a mark on packaging that never reaches the buyer fails here.
The fourth test is the English name of the country of origin, and it has two parts: the name must be in English, and it must be the correct country. Ambiguous abbreviations, foreign-language names, or the wrong origin because someone misjudged where the goods were actually made all fail. For goods assembled in one country from components of another, origin turns on substantial transformation: did processing in the second country create a new and different article? Get that analysis wrong and the mark names the wrong country, which is a failure even when the printing is perfect.
Under 19 CFR 134.51, the Center director notifies the importer on Customs Form 4647 to arrange proper marking, or to return all released articles to CBP custody for marking, exportation, or destruction. Corrective marking is done under CBP supervision, though under 19 CFR 134.52 CBP may accept a certificate of marking, supported by samples, instead of physical supervision. The goods do not move until the marking is fixed.
The money consequence is separate and harsher. CBP can assess a marking duty of 10 percent ad valorem under 19 USC 1304(i), and that duty accrues at the time of importation and cannot be remitted. Repeated or intentional violations can also draw civil penalties under 19 USC 1592. A 10 percent duty on a shipment that was supposed to clear at 3 percent is not a rounding error. It is the cost of treating marking as packaging instead of compliance.
Made in USA is a different rule from a different agency, and mixing the two up causes real mistakes. The FTC's Made in USA Labeling Rule says a product can carry an unqualified Made in USA label only if it is all or virtually all made in the United States: final assembly and all significant processing happened here, and all or virtually all components are domestic. A product assembled in the US from foreign components can say Assembled in USA from foreign components, if the principal assembly took place domestically and was substantial enough to qualify as a last substantial transformation.
The import rule and the FTC rule can both apply to the same product and demand different things. An imported article needs its country of origin marked under 19 USC 1304. A domestic origin claim needs to survive the FTC's all or virtually all test. Know which rule you are satisfying before you print the label, because a label that passes one and fails the other is still a failed label.
Keep reading: CBP Form 7501: The Fields Importers Get Wrong Most, HTS Classification for Apparel: Why the Fabric Decides the Duty.
The ultimate purchaser is generally the last person in the United States who receives the article in its imported form, as defined in 19 CFR 134.1. If you import finished goods for consumers, your customer is the ultimate purchaser and the mark must reach them. If you substantially transform imported components into a new US product, you are the ultimate purchaser, and generally the container the parts arrive in needs the mark, not each part.
CBP can hold the goods until they are re-marked under customs supervision, and assess a marking duty of 10 percent ad valorem under 19 USC 1304(i), a duty that accrues at importation and cannot be remitted. The Center director notifies the importer on Customs Form 4647 to arrange proper marking, or to return the articles to CBP custody for marking, exportation, or destruction.
Only if the carton reaches the ultimate purchaser. A mark on an outer carton that gets discarded before the buyer sees the product fails the conspicuous test. The mark has to be on the article itself, or on a container that actually reaches the buyer in its imported form.
No, and confusing the two is a common mistake. The import marking rule is 19 USC 1304 and 19 CFR Part 134, enforced by CBP. Made in USA claims are governed by the FTC, which requires an unqualified claim to mean the product is all or virtually all made in the United States. Different agency, different test, different consequences.