Country of Origin

Question: I have been asked to explain the difference between “Product of USA” and “Made in USA”.  Would someone kindly point me to the proper source for the definitions and correct usage?

Question: I work for an industry that produces a beverage consumable. There hasbeen some discussion internally, due to some scarcity of raw material,that we may blend foreign and domestic raw materials.  Both of the sameHTS so there is no substantial transformation.  If each part is of equalcharacteristic and it doesn’t meet the content requirement of […]

Question: I have a COO marking question. I import a component for my end customer. It is a blank empty bottle.  Outercarton of the merchandise has COO of China shown on it, otherwise the bottleis blank and no COO anywhere.  My customer modifies it slightly (screen printing ) and then put it up in a […]

Question: I would appreciate any comments regarding Customs Ruling # 9111-14 that allowshardware made abroad to be classified as USA origin once US made firmware andapplication software (necessary for it to operate) is incorporated uponimportation.  Has anyone used this ruling to classify different types ofhardware made abroad as made in USA using this “substantial transformation”methodology?

Question: Being a US manufacturer – and thus being in the territory of a NAFTAparty – are the NAFTA Rules of Origin my exclusive guide to determine if myproduct (made with imported raw materials) is a product of the US?I am not interested in NAFTA benefits as my product exports  to Europe.By NAFTA rules of […]

Question: If the country of origin is stated incorrectly on an invoice for an export from the US, what are the ramifications of such an error?  I’m trying to understand if this is an export compliance issue, or more of an import compliance issue in the country of destination.

Question:   I appear to have a conflict between two Federal regulations regarding the determination on the origin on a product which we are assembling in the US.  The product is a small wooden picture frame complete with the glass front and easel back which would be used to display a photo on your desk. […]

Question:   We have manufacturing sites in several countries.  We also have some very old equipment.  When we transfer equipment from one country to another, we often bring it back to the U.S. to refurbish before sending it to the new location.  This equipment may be 25-30 years old and has been fully depreciated for […]

Question:   With the exception of textile products, where FTC requires disclosure about whether a textile product has been imported or not, it seems that it is pretty much up to one’s own prerogative as far as how much information about a product’s origin (Country) is advertised online or in mail order catalogs.  Aside from […]

Question:I hope that someone has experience with the following situation.  We have purchased scrap metal from a company in Barbados.  When I received their ISF information they claimed the country of origin for the material is the US.  I know they bought raw sheet metal from the US to make their product.  But we are […]

Question: Does anyone know of ruling which states that if a foreign product is inpossession by US company that after a specific time period that productchanges to country of origin:  US?

Question: I would like to know what other companies do when they have exhausted all avenues on obtaining the country of origin for durable goods that they have had in inventory (prior to a formalized process for assimilation of COO information)?  Some of the parts are so old that the supplier is no longer in […]