A product can have two different "countries of origin" under US law at the same time, and both answers can be correct. The country stamped on the item under the customs marking rules and the country that qualifies the same shipment for a lower tariff under a free trade agreement are decided by separate legal tests, in separate bodies of regulation, and they do not have to agree. Conflating the two is probably the single most common error in this area, and it is an easy one to make because both tests sometimes use the exact same phrase: "substantial transformation."
This guide covers only the first question: the physical country-of-origin marking requirement under 19 U.S. Code § 1304 and its implementing regulation, 19 CFR Part 134, the rule that decides what an imported article itself must say about where it came from. For the separate question of whether a shipment qualifies for a lower tariff under a trade agreement, see our guides to rules of origin and preferential duty and free trade agreement certificates of origin. Both matter. Neither one answers the other.
Two origins, two tests, sometimes two different countries
A concrete example makes the split clear. A shirt cut and sewn into a finished garment in Vietnam, from fabric woven in China, can legally be marked "Made in Vietnam" for customs marking purposes, because turning fabric into a finished garment is generally treated as a substantial transformation under the marking rules. The same shirt can, at the same time, fail to qualify as "originating" in Vietnam under a specific free trade agreement's own rules of origin, which typically apply a different and often stricter test, such as a tariff classification shift or a minimum regional value content, to decide whether a duty preference applies at all.
One shipment, one country printed on the label, and a completely separate answer to whether that label buys a lower tariff. The marking on the goods is not evidence of duty-preference eligibility, and a broker asked to support a duty claim should never point to the country-of-origin marking as proof.
The regulation itself acknowledges the split. The marking definition at 19 CFR 134.1(b) carves out goods covered by NAFTA or USMCA marking rules, which are instead decided under the tariff-shift rules in 19 CFR Part 102, a different test from the general marking rule described below. If the regulation needs a separate carve-out just to keep one trade agreement's goods on the right track, the general marking test and a trade agreement's own origin rules were never the same thing to begin with.
The general marking requirement
The statutory rule, 19 U.S. Code § 1304(a), states it plainly: "Every article of foreign origin...imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit in such manner as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article." CBP's implementing regulation, 19 CFR 134.11, repeats the same standard and applies it at the time of importation, not at some later point in the supply chain.
Unpacked, that single sentence sets four separate requirements:
- Conspicuous: somewhere a buyer would actually notice, not hidden.
- Legible: readable without special equipment.
- Indelible and permanent, "as the nature of the article will permit": the standard flexes with what the article can physically take, but it does not disappear just because marking is inconvenient.
- English name of the country of origin: the actual country name, not a flag, a region, or a trade abbreviation.
The target audience named in the statute is the "ultimate purchaser," defined at 19 CFR 134.1 as generally the last person in the United States who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. That matters because it is also the hinge for several of the exceptions below: if the ultimate purchaser will necessarily know the actual country of origin anyway, from how the goods are sold or used, marking the article itself can become unnecessary.
How CBP decides the marking country: substantial transformation
19 CFR 134.1 defines country of origin, for marking purposes, as the country of manufacture, production, or growth of the article. Where material from one country is worked on or has material added to it in another country, that second country only becomes the marking country of origin if the work or material added effects a substantial transformation, meaning the article emerges with a new name, character, or use different from what went into it.
That test is not spelled out as a bright-line numeric threshold anywhere in the regulation. CBP applies it ruling by ruling, against the actual facts of a specific product and process, through its public CROSS rulings system. A plausible-sounding analogy from a different product is not a safe substitute for checking how CBP has actually ruled on something close to your own goods, and it is a different question entirely from the tariff-shift or value-content tests a free trade agreement applies to decide duty eligibility, even on an identical shipment.
Common exceptions: the general exceptions and the J-list
Not every imported article has to carry its own individual marking. 19 CFR 134.32 sets out general exceptions, which as of this writing include articles that are incapable of being marked without injury, articles for which marking is economically prohibitive relative to their value, crude substances, articles imported for the importer's own use and not for resale in their imported form, articles that will themselves undergo a further substantial transformation after importation, articles produced more than 20 years before importation, articles for immediate exportation, and cases where the ultimate purchaser will necessarily know the actual country of origin from the circumstances of the sale even though the article itself carries no marking.
Separately, 19 CFR 134.33 sets out what CBP calls the J-list: a specific, named roster of article types exempted from individual marking regardless of the general exceptions, covering categories such as natural products, metals and alloys in certain unworked forms, and a range of small or bulk raw materials and components. Being on the J-list does not exempt the shipment from marking altogether: the outermost shipping container usually still has to carry the country of origin, unless that container independently qualifies for its own exception. Check any exception against the specific article rather than a similar one, and always check the container separately.
Marking that lasts, and the "other place" trap
19 CFR 134.41 sets the permanence bar: marking must be "sufficiently permanent to insure that in any reasonably foreseeable circumstance, the marking shall remain on the article...until it reaches the ultimate purchaser unless it is deliberately removed." For some goods, an adhesive sticker clears that bar. For others, 19 CFR 134.43 requires a specific method, such as die stamping, cast-in-the-mold lettering, etching, engraving, or a securely attached metal plate, for items like knives and surgical instruments, precisely because a label is not durable enough to survive to the ultimate purchaser.
A separate and commonly missed rule sits at 19 CFR 134.46. If an article or its container names any place other than the actual country of origin, including a US city or state, the word "United States," or the word "American," the actual country of origin has to appear in close proximity to that other reference and in a comparable size, generally with a qualifier such as "Made in" or "Product of" in front of it. A product boxed with a prominent "Designed in California" line and only a small "Made in China" sticker tucked in a corner is a textbook 134.46 problem: the two statements are not comparably prominent or close together, even though the country of origin technically appears somewhere on the box.
"Made in USA" is a separate rule, enforced by a separate agency
19 CFR Part 134 governs how a foreign-made article has to be marked when it enters the United States. It has nothing to say about when a product made in the United States is allowed to claim that on a retail package or in an advertisement. That second question belongs to the Federal Trade Commission, under its Made in USA Labeling Rule, 16 CFR Part 323, which took effect 14 July 2021.
The FTC standard for an unqualified "Made in USA" claim, at 16 CFR 323.2, is that it is an unfair or deceptive practice to make the claim unless "the final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States, all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States, and all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States."
CBP's 19 CFR 134 decides what a foreign article must say when it is imported. The FTC's 16 CFR 323 decides when a product can claim, on US packaging or advertising, to be made in America. A CBP-compliant country-of-origin marking on an imported component says nothing about whether a finished product assembled from it can later carry an unqualified "Made in USA" claim.
What happens if goods are not marked correctly
If CBP examines a shipment and finds it is not legally marked, 19 CFR 134.51 has the port issue a notice requiring the importer to either properly mark the goods, or return them to CBP custody for marking, exportation, or destruction, with the cost and the supervision of whichever option is chosen falling on the importer.
If that is not resolved before the entry liquidates, 19 CFR 134.2 and 19 U.S. Code § 1304(i) impose an additional duty of 10 percent ad valorem on the unmarked articles. The statute is explicit that this duty "shall be deemed to have accrued at the time of importation, shall not be construed to be penal, and shall not be remitted wholly or in part nor shall payment thereof be avoidable for any cause." In plain terms: it is a duty, not a fine, it stacks on top of whatever ordinary customs duty already applies to the goods, and once it attaches there is no late fix that removes it, which is exactly why resolving a marking notice before liquidation matters.
One related point: 19 CFR 134.52 lets an importer file a certificate of marking, supported by a sample, instead of having CBP physically supervise the remarking. A false certificate exposes the importer to penalties under 19 U.S. Code § 1592, and willful false statements can carry criminal exposure under 18 U.S. Code § 1001.
A practical checklist for an importer receiving marked goods
- Do not assume the marked country and the duty-preference country are the same. Ask your supplier which test decided the marking, and check the trade agreement's own rules of origin separately if you plan to claim a preference.
- Check the general exceptions and the J-list before assuming individual marking is required at all. If the article qualifies for an exception, confirm separately whether the shipping container still needs to be marked.
- Scan the goods and packaging for any other place name, a US city, "American," or a different country, and confirm the real country of origin appears close by and in a comparable size under 19 CFR 134.46.
- If a "Made in USA" claim is planned for a US-processed product, check it against the FTC's 16 CFR 323 standard separately. A CBP-compliant import marking does not clear that bar on its own.
- Resolve any CBP marking notice before the entry liquidates. The 10 percent marking duty under 19 U.S. Code § 1304(i) is non-waivable once it attaches.
- Keep the marking file and the duty-preference file separate. A certificate of origin for a free trade agreement runs on its own paperwork and does not settle the marking question, and vice versa.
Country-of-origin marking is a labelling question decided at entry. It is a different question from how the shipment's dutiable value was calculated, which our guide to customs valuation covers, and a different question again from the physical mechanics of marking cartons for handling, weight and routing rather than for country of origin, covered in cargo marking and labelling.
A customs broker who handles your specific commodity and lane regularly will have already seen how CBP treats it. You can search more than 29,300 logistics companies by country and service in the CargoLinked directory, or post your shipment and let forwarders come to you.
This guide explains the general country-of-origin marking framework under US law as of October 2026. Marking determinations are fact-specific and decided against your actual product and process, exceptions and duty treatment can change, and this is not legal advice. Confirm your own marking obligations with a licensed customs broker or CBP directly before relying on anything here.
