Does either the US or China require “MADE IN CHINA” identification?

[Phil Fields]

Hello,
A question came up this morning concerning products that we have made in China for the US market. Is there a regulation either US or China that requires “MADE IN CHINA” identification?

We have machined parts, wire assemblies, thermal printers, and transfer carriages. These are all components, except the transfer carriage, they are accessories.

Thank you,
Phil

[qualitymanager]

Unless somebody gives a definitive answer, I suggest you check the government entities which deal with trade issues.

In my country the National Standards Body requires that the country of origin be identified on (almost all types of) goods for sale to the public.

There are World Trade Organization (WTO) requirements/guidelines for determining "country of origin" (a big issue when you think about parts from 6 countries send to a 7th for assembly, re-packaged in an 8th and marketed in a 9th).

[somerqc]

Having previously worked in a facility where we used overseas parts in the finished product, I can tell you it depends. What does it depend on? Many things according to the Free Trade Act.

I think you should contact your local trade related government agency for the exact calculations required to determine what the label has to say, but the factors we had to look at were

1. Value of overseas parts
2. Value of overseas labour
3. Value of Canadian (in my case) parts
4. Value of Canadian labour.
5. Value of transit from overseas to North American port
6. Value of transit from NA port to manufacturing facility
7. Value of transit to dealer and/or end customer.

There are others but I wasn't involved in gathering that information. Sometimes it may surprise you. There was a product where all the components were made overseas but assembled and tested in Canada - it qualified for "Made in Canada".

As previously recommended, contact government agency and go from there. But, there is a lot of data requried.

[Phil Fields]

Thank you for the replies. I will look into the Free Trade Act.

Phil

[Kates]

I would recommend Country of Origin be marked on each component.

We learnt the hard way two years ago, when a 40'HQ was held by Customs due to 'Marking Violation' by Department of the Treasury. By working with our Broker we were able to release Container to our warehouse and avoid further Storage Fees by consenting to have all 1438 units marked within 30 days.

We special ordered 'Made in China' stickers for remaining product (after two weeks) just in case. And to our surprise almost 30 days to the day, 2 Customs Inspectors showed up to review product!

We now have all our products marked with Country of Origin prior to leaving factory.

Hope this helps.
Kate