The mark that says where a product was made

The requirement in one sentence

Unless excepted by law, every article of foreign origin or its container imported into the United States has to be marked in a conspicuous place. The marking has to be as legible, indelible and permanent as the nature of the article or container will permit.

The purpose written into the rule is to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin, at the time of importation.

Country of origin is defined as the country of manufacture, production or growth. Where further work or material is added in another country, that country becomes the country of origin only if the additional work effects a substantial transformation.

Containers get pulled in automatically. Where an article is excepted from marking, its container is still marked with the country of origin of the article, unless the container is also excepted.

One definition inside the part is easy to skip and worth reading. A country means the political entity known as a nation, and colonies, possessions or protectorates outside the boundaries of the mother country are considered separate countries.

A second definition narrows the geography. The United States, for these purposes, includes territories and possessions but expressly excludes the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and several Pacific islands. Foreign articles imported into one of those and reshipped to the mainland carry the same marking duty as goods coming directly from abroad.

The ultimate purchaser is the whole test

The rule protects one specific person, and identifying that person decides what has to be marked.

The ultimate purchaser is generally the last person in the United States who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. The regulation admits that it is not feasible to state who that will be in every circumstance, and gives examples.

If an imported article will be used in manufacture, the manufacturer may be the ultimate purchaser, provided the process results in a substantial transformation. If the process is merely minor and leaves the identity of the imported article intact, the consumer or user who obtains it afterwards is the ultimate purchaser.

If an article is sold at retail in its imported form, the retail purchaser is the ultimate purchaser. If it is distributed as a gift, the recipient generally is.

That is why the marking rules follow goods through repacking. Three situations are named: articles repacked in a bonded warehouse, articles manipulated under the Tariff Act, and articles manipulated but not manufactured in a foreign trade zone. Each is marked with the country of origin at the time it is withdrawn for consumption.

How the mark has to be made and worded

The statute requires the marking to be legible, indelible and permanent. The regulation adds a workable definition of permanence.

The degree of permanence should be at least sufficient for one thing. In any reasonably foreseeable circumstance, the marking will remain on the article or its container until it reaches the ultimate purchaser, unless deliberately removed. The marking has to survive normal distribution and store handling, and the ultimate purchaser has to be able to find it easily and read it without strain.

Paper stickers and pressure sensitive labels are allowed, on conditions. They must be affixed in a conspicuous place and securely enough that unless deliberately removed they remain on the article while it is in storage or on display, and until delivery.

The words themselves are regulated. The marking has to include the full English name of the country of origin, unless another marking is specifically authorized. Abbreviations that unmistakably indicate a country are acceptable, and so are variant spellings that clearly indicate the English name.

Adjectival forms are accepted, with a limit. The adjectival form is proper unless it appears with other words so as to refer to a kind or species of product. The regulation gives two familiar phrases as examples of what is unacceptable on that ground.

When the package mentions somewhere else

One section addresses the situation that matters most for a product page or a carton with an address on it.

The trigger is a list of words. United States or American. The letters U.S.A., or any variation of them. The name of any city or location in the United States. Or the name of any foreign country or locality other than where the article was made. Where any of those appear on an imported article or its container, and may mislead or deceive the ultimate purchaser about the actual country of origin, an additional marking is required.

The country of origin has to appear legibly and permanently in close proximity to those words, in at least a comparable size, preceded by "Made in", "Product of", or other words of similar meaning.

The trigger is deception rather than the mere presence of a place name. The section applies where the words may mislead or deceive the ultimate purchaser as to the actual country of origin.

The regulation also handles the case of a name it considers unfamiliar. Where the name of a colony, possession or protectorate is not well enough known to inform an ultimate purchaser, or could cause confusion or mistake, clarifying words are required. The additional wording is then specified in published decisions.

The exceptions, and what happens to unmarked goods

The exceptions list is long and specific. It covers articles incapable of being marked. It covers articles that cannot be marked before shipment without injury, or except at an expense economically prohibitive of the importation. It covers crude substances, and articles imported for the importer's own use and not intended for sale in any form.

It also covers articles whose ultimate purchaser must necessarily know the country of origin, from the circumstances of importation or the character of the article. And it covers articles produced more than twenty years before importation, and articles exempt from duty under the small-value and gift exemptions.

An exception from marking the article is usually not an exception from marking the container. The general exceptions section says so in its opening line, pointing to the separate subpart on containers.

Where goods are found on examination not to be legally marked, the importer is notified. The choice is to arrange to mark the articles or containers, or to return released goods to customs custody for marking, exportation or destruction. Verification is at the importer's expense and under customs supervision, unless a certificate of marking is accepted instead.

Failing to fix it has a price. Suppose the importer does not properly mark or redeliver within thirty days of a notice of redelivery. The port director then demands liquidated damages in an amount equal to the entered value of the goods not marked or redelivered.

One document carries a warning of its own. A certificate of marking is a statement from an importer that the required marking has been done, filed with a sample of the marked merchandise. Filing a false one draws a seizure or a monetary penalty claim, and in a case of willful deceit, a criminal referral under the federal false statements statute.

Sources

Each document below is named as it names itself, with the date printed on that document rather than the day it was read.

1. 19 CFR 134.1 and 134.11 — Definitions including country of origin and ultimate purchaser with its four worked examples, and the general marking requirement implementing section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 — Office of the Federal Register, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, September 2026
2. 19 CFR 134.13 and 134.32 — Marking of imported articles repacked or manipulated, and the seventeen general exceptions to the marking requirements — Office of the Federal Register, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, September 2026
3. 19 CFR 134.41, 134.44 and 134.45 — Methods and manner of marking with the permanence and visibility standard, acceptable marking locations including stickers and tags, and approved markings of a country name including abbreviations, variant spellings and adjectival forms — Office of the Federal Register, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, September 2026
4. 19 CFR 134.46 — Marking when the name of a country or locality other than the country of origin appears, requiring the origin in close proximity and comparable size preceded by "Made in" or "Product of" — Office of the Federal Register, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, September 2026
5. 19 CFR 134.51, 134.52 and 134.54 — Procedure when an importation is found not legally marked, the certificate of marking and the penalty for filing a false one, and liquidated damages equal to entered value after thirty days — Office of the Federal Register, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, September 2026