Receipt of Domestic Interested Party Petition Concerning Country of Origin Marking for Safety Glasses

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

Receipt of Domestic Interested Party Petition Concerning Country

of Origin Marking for Safety Glasses

AGENCY: Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of domestic interested party petition;

solicitation of comments.

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SUMMARY: Customs has received a petition filed on behalf of domestic

interested parties concerning the country of origin marking

requirements for prescription safety glasses. Under current practice,

imported safety glass frames are excepted from country of origin

marking requirements if an employer actually purchases the completed

prescription safety glasses despite the fact that the wearer of the

safety glasses may have some choice in selecting the frames. Customs

has ruled that the insertion of the prescription lenses into the frames

in the United States to make safety glasses substantially transforms

the frames into a new article of commerce. The petitioners request that

Customs adopts the position that employer-purchased imported

prescription safety glass frames that an employee selects be required

to be marked with their country of origin. Public comment is solicited

regarding the application of the marking requirements to imported

prescription safety frames.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 11, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments (preferably in triplicate) may be submitted to the

U.S. Customs Service, Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and

Rulings, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW. (Franklin Court), Washington,

D.C. 20229. Comments may be viewed at the Office of Regulations and

Rulings, Franklin Court, 1099 14th Street NW., Suite 4000, Washington,

D.C.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Cohen, Special Classification

and Marking Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings, U.S. Customs

Service, (202) 482-6980.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Background

Pursuant to section 516, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C.

1516) and Part 175, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 175), a domestic

interested party may challenge certain decisions made by Customs

regarding imported merchandise which is claimed to be similar to the

class or kind of merchandise manufactured, produced or wholesaled by

the domestic interested party. This document provides notice that

domestic interested parties are challenging a marking decision made by

Customs.

The petitioners are the Industrial Safety Equipment Association

(ISEA) and the Optical Industry Association (OIA)--trade associations

who represent their members who are domestic manufacturers of safety

glasses. Both entities qualify as domestic interested parties within

the meaning of 19 U.S.C. 1516(a)(2).

Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304),

provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin shall

be marked in a conspicuous place with the English name of the country

of origin. The country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of

19 U.S.C. 1304 are implemented by part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR

part 134).

The petitioners contend that imported safety frames should be

required to be marked with their country of origin notwithstanding a

limited number of alternatives of frames from which to select. Customs

present position excepts prescription safety glass frames from country

of origin marking under the circumstances set forth in Headquarters

Ruling Letter (HRL) 734258, dated January 7, 1992.

In HRL 734258, the importer proposed to mark the safety frames by

affixing a hangtag or an adhesive sticker to the safety frames with the

name of the country of origin printed thereon. This method of marking

would inform the optical laboratory of the country of origin of the

frames. The optical laboratories would remove the hangtag/sticker when

they installed the prescription safety lenses. While the manufacturer

of the safety frames produced a variety of frames, the employer of the

safety glass wearer provided a very limited selection of frames from

which the employees could select. In limited circumstances, employers

would set a cap for the amount that they would spend on the safety

glass frames. The employees could elect to supplement this amount with

their own funds to acquire a particular style of safety frames. Based

on these facts, Customs concluded that the optical laboratories that

insert the safety lenses into the safety frames are the ultimate

purchasers of the eyeglass frames and that the use of the hangtags or

stickers to mark the frames which the laboratories remove when the

lenses are attached is acceptable, provided the marking of the hangtags

or stickers is conspicuous, legible, and permanent.

In reaching the conclusion set forth in HRL 734258, Customs relied

on HRL 729649, dated October 27, 1986, which was a ruling in response

to a request to reconsider HRL 729451, dated May 27, 1986. In HRL

729451, Customs determined that the consumer is the ultimate purchaser

of prescription eyeglass frames rather than the lab that places the

lenses into the frames. In that ruling, Customs noted:

[O]nly after the initial decision is made on the frame is it

sent to the lab for the addition of the particular lens. The

decision to purchase a particular frame is made separate and apart

from the processing involved in the addition of the prescription

lens. In view of these circumstances, we find that the consumer is

the ultimate purchaser of the frames and is entitled to be informed

of its country of origin.

Customs reconsidered HRL 729451 due to the addition of material

facts that had been omitted from the ruling request upon which HRL

729451 was based. The omitted fact was that the importer was a

manufacturer of safety spectacle frames, which unlike ordinary

prescription spectacle frames, consist of special frames and lenses

that are manufactured to meet certain safety guidelines. In addition,

the employee was given a few choices of safety frames, but it was the

employer who

[[Page 35793]]

determined the type of safety glasses that were required for its

employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and

regulations promulgated thereunder, required that these employers

provide safety eyewear for their employees.

As a result of these additional facts, Customs ruled that the

purchaser of the safety glasses was not making two purchasing decisions

(frames and lenses). Rather, Customs concluded that the employer was

actually purchasing one item (safety glasses). Therefore, Customs

concluded that the optical laboratory that assembled the frames and

lenses substantially transformed the frames into a new and different

article of commerce (safety glasses).

The instant petition requests that Customs reconsider and reject

the position stated in HRL 734258, and, essentially, adopt the position

that prescription safety glasses are no different from prescription

glasses, provided the employee exercises some degree of choice in

selecting safety frames. Accordingly, the petitioner seeks to have

Customs treat an employee's selection of prescription safety spectacle

frames as a purchasing decision which is separate from the subsequent

process of inserting the safety prescription lenses into the safety

frames. Should Customs adopt this position, the safety frames at issue

in HRL 734258 would be required to be marked with their country of

origin for the benefit of the ultimate purchaser--the employee who

receives and uses the safety frames in the workplace.

Comments

Pursuant to section 175.21(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR

175.21(a)), before making a determination on this matter, Customs

invites written comments from interested parties. The petition of the

domestic interested party, as well as all comments received in response

to this notice, will be available for public inspection in accordance

with the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), section 1.4,

Treasury Department Regulations (31 CFR 1.4), and section 103.11(b),

Customs Regulations (19 CFR 103.11(b)), on regular business days

between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the Regulations Branch,

Suite 4000, Franklin Court, 1099 14th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

Authority

This notice is published in accordance with section 175.21(a),

Customs Regulations (19 CFR 175.21(a)).

Drafting Information

The principal drafter of this document was David Cohen, Special

Classification and Marking Branch, United States Customs Service.

Personnel from other Customs offices participated in its development.

Michael H. Lane,

Acting Commissioner of Customs.

Approved: May 16, 1995.

John P. Simpson,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

[FR Doc. 95-16850 Filed 7-10-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820-02-P