[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 19, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 19CFR134.1]

[Page 718-719]
 
                        TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES
 
   CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF 
              HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
 
PART 134_COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING--Table of Contents
 
                      Subpart A_General Provisions
 
Sec.  134.1  Definitions.


    When used in this part, the following terms shall have the meaning 
indicated:
    (a) Country. ``Country'' means the political entity known as a 
nation. Colonies, possessions, or protectorates outside the boundaries 
of the mother country are considered separate countries.
    (b) Country of origin. ``Country of origin'' means the country of 
manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin 
entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article 
in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to 
render such other country the ``country of origin'' within the meaning 
of this part; however, for a good of a NAFTA country, the NAFTA Marking 
Rules will determine the country of origin.
    (c) Foreign origin. ``Foreign origin'' refers to a country of origin 
other than the United States, as defined in paragraph (e) of this 
section, or its possessions and territories.
    (d) Ultimate purchaser. 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; however, for a good of a NAFTA country, 
the ``ultimate purchaser'' is the last person in the United States who 
purchases the good in the form in which it was imported. It is not 
feasible to state who will be the ``ultimate purchaser'' in every 
circumstance. The following examples may be helpful:
    (1) If an imported article will be used in manufacture, the 
manufacturer may be the ``ultimate purchaser'' if he subjects the 
imported article to a process which results in a substantial 
transformation of the article, even though the process may not result in 
a new or different article, or for a good of a NAFTA country, a process 
which results in one of the changes prescribed in the NAFTA Marking 
Rules as effecting a change in the article's country of origin.
    (2) If the manufacturing process is merely a minor one which leaves 
the identity of the imported article intact, the consumer or user of the 
article, who obtains the article after the processing, will be regarded 
as the ``ultimate purchaser.'' With respect to a good of a NAFTA 
country, if the manufacturing process does not result in one

[[Page 719]]

of the changes prescribed in the NAFTA Marking Rules as effecting a 
change in the article's country of origin, the consumer who purchases 
the article after processing will be regarded as the ultimate purchaser.
    (3) If an article is to be sold at retail in its imported form, the 
purchaser at retail is the ``ultimate purchaser.''
    (4) If the imported article is distributed as a gift the recipient 
is the ``ultimate purchaser'', unless the good is a good of a NAFTA 
country. In that case, the purchaser of the gift is the ultimate 
purchaser.
    (e) United States. ``United States'' includes all territories and 
possessions of the United States, except the Virgin Islands, American 
Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, Johnston Island, and 
the island of Guam.
    (f) Customs territory of the United States. ``Customs territory of 
the United States,'' as used in this chapter includes the States, the 
District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
    (g) Good of a NAFTA country. A ``good of a NAFTA country'' is an 
article for which the country of origin is Canada, Mexico or the United 
States as determined under the NAFTA Marking Rules.
    (h) NAFTA. ``NAFTA'' means the North American Free Trade Agreement 
entered into by the United States, Canada and Mexico on August 13, 1992.
    (i) NAFTA country. ``NAFTA country'' means the territory of the 
United States, Canada or Mexico, as defined in Annex 201.1 of the NAFTA.
    (j) NAFTA Marking Rules. The ``NAFTA Marking Rules'' are the rules 
promulgated for purposes of determining whether a good is a good of a 
NAFTA country.
    (k) Conspicuous. ``Conspicuous'' means capable of being easily seen 
with normal handling of the article or container.

[T.D. 72-262, 37 FR 20318, Sept. 29, 1972, as amended by T.D. 94-1, 58 
FR 69471, Dec. 30, 1993; T.D. 95-68, 60 FR 46362, Sept. 6, 1995]