CBP Says Lampposts Imported by Municipality May Not Be Subject to Country of Origin Marking
Cast iron and aluminum lampposts and lamppost bases, imported by a municipality and bearing the name of a U.S. locality, do not necessarily have to be conspicuously and indelibly marked with the country of origin, as long as the municipality is aware of the source, said CBP in a May 31 ruling. Domestic lamppost manufacturer Spring City Electrical Manufacturing Company requested the ruling, HQ H215535, arguing that when a product is imported by a municipality, the ultimate purchaser is the taxpaying public. Therefore, country of origin marking for lampposts imported by municipalities must be visible to the public, it said. CBP disagreed, pointing to past rulings, and also denied Spring City’s request to revoke one of those past rulings for lack of standing.
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The country of origin marking statute at 19 USC 1304 lays out several exceptions to the requirement that imported goods be conspicuously, indelibly, and permanently marked to indicate the country of origin to the ultimate purchaser. One of those exceptions to marking is if the ultimate purchaser necessarily knows the country of origin because of the circumstances of importation. But 19 USC 1304(e) says no exceptions apply to “manhole rings or frames, covers, and assemblies thereof,” which must be marked on top with the English-language name of the country of origin. When it discussed the country of origin marking requirement for manhole covers, Congress said labeling should be required because the public is the ultimate purchaser and user, and should be informed of its origin.
Spring City argued that the taxpaying public, not the municipality, is also the ultimate purchaser of the lampposts. Therefore, it said, the country of origin of the lampposts should be prominently displayed to the public, and any exceptions to country of origin marking do not apply.
But CBP said that the ultimate purchaser of the lampposts was the municipality, and not the public. To support its position, CBP pointed to several rulings on the ultimate purchaser of goods imported by municipalities. In one of them, HQ 731937 (1990), CBP said the ultimate purchaser of imported metal castings was the municipality, because the local government municipality purchased the goods in question, and the public was not involved in the purchasing decision. And because Congress didn’t specifically mention metal castings when it said the public is the ultimate purchaser of manhole covers, exceptions to country of origin, like knowledge of country of origin because of circumstances of importation, may still apply.
Because the lampposts in question are also marked with the name of a U.S. locality (presumably the municipality), CBP next turned to whether they are subject to 19 CFR 134.46, which says the country of origin must be marked in close proximity and in comparable size to the locality name to avoid confusion. CBP said they are not necessary to subject to that requirement. Once again, if the ultimate purchaser (in this case the municipality) knows the circumstances of importation of the country of origin of the lampposts, the country of origin marking isn’t required.
CBP also declined to revoke NY J88217, a 2003 ruling on marking requirements for grates and valve boxes. In that ruling, CBP had said the ultimate purchaser was the municipality, and that Section 1304’s provisions on manhole rings or frames, covers, and assemblies thereof didn’t mention either of the products at issue. CBP declined to revoke because that ruling was not issued to Spring City, so it didn’t have standing to request revocation. It also said it wouldn’t revoke it anyway, for the same reasons it gave for the lampposts.