Marking & Origin

Core rule

For ordinary marking analysis, country of origin is the country of manufacture, production, or growth; work performed in another country changes that origin only if it effects a substantial transformation. For a good whose marking origin is Canada, Mexico, or the United States, Part 102 determines country of origin for marking purposes. The shipping or export country is not automatically the marking origin. This is the current-law baseline reviewed on 2026-08-18; for a CBLE question, confirm the CFR and other references designated for that exam sitting before choosing the exam answer.

Authority and lookup route

Core rule

For an article outside the Part 102 marking branch, further work changes country of origin only when it effects a substantial transformation. Under §134.35, U.S. manufacture producing an article with a name, character, or use different from the imported article makes the U.S. manufacturer or processor the ultimate purchaser; the imported article may be excepted from individual marking, but its outermost container remains subject to marking. Whether a real process satisfies the test is fact-specific and may require CBP rulings or case law. This is the current-law baseline reviewed on 2026-08-18; for a CBLE question, confirm the CFR and other references designated for that exam sitting before choosing the exam answer.

Authority and lookup route

Core rule

The ultimate purchaser is generally the last U.S. person to receive the article in the form in which it was imported. A retail purchaser is the ultimate purchaser when the article is sold unchanged; a U.S. manufacturer may be the ultimate purchaser after a qualifying substantial transformation; minor processing that leaves the imported article's identity intact generally leaves the later consumer or user as ultimate purchaser. Part 102 supplies the corresponding branch for Canada, Mexico, and United States marking goods. This is the current-law baseline reviewed on 2026-08-18; for a CBLE question, confirm the CFR and other references designated for that exam sitting before choosing the exam answer.

Authority and lookup route

Core rule

Section 134.32 exceptions generally remove the article-marking requirement, not every container requirement. Unless the container is also excepted, the outermost container in which the article ordinarily reaches the ultimate purchaser must indicate the article's origin. The §134.33 J-list covers listed classes, not every small, bulk, or low-value article. Other agencies' independent marking or labeling requirements remain applicable. This is the current-law baseline reviewed on 2026-08-18; for a CBLE question, confirm the CFR and other references designated for that exam sitting before choosing the exam answer.

Authority and lookup route

Core rule

Repacking may not obscure an article's origin mark unless the new container is properly marked, and an importer may have certification or written notice duties when it or a later purchaser repacks. An article not legally marked at importation is subject to an additional duty of 10 percent of final appraised value unless, before liquidation and under customs supervision, it is properly marked, exported, or destroyed. A released article may also be subject to redelivery and bond liquidated damages. Current 19 U.S.C. 1304 places the 10-percent rule in subsection (i); some current Part 134 text retains older subsection references, so distinguish current statute from the CFR edition designated for the exam. This is the current-law baseline reviewed on 2026-08-18; for a CBLE question, confirm the CFR and other references designated for that exam sitting before choosing the exam answer.

Authority and lookup route