US marking

Country-of-origin marking on U.S. imports

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) explains that, as a general rule, articles of foreign origin entering the United States must be legibly marked with the English name of the country of origin, unless a legal exception applies.

Legal basis

19 U.S.C. § 1304 (Tariff Act of 1930, section 304) establishes the country-of-origin marking requirement and exceptions.
19 CFR Part 134 implements the marking rules and the practical exceptions.

Exception that can be relevant for photoreactive 3D resins

Articles processed in the United States

One of the statutory and regulatory exceptions applies when an imported article will be processed in the United States by the importer (or for their account) in a way that any marking would be necessarily destroyed, obliterated, or permanently concealed.

This exception can be relevant for photoreactive 3D resins supplied as liquids, because they are not sold as finished objects. They are transformed during printing into solid parts through a controlled photochemical curing process (followed by cleaning, post-curing and post-processing). In such workflows, any marking applied to the liquid itself would not remain visible on the finished printed object.

Important practical note (containers may still require marking)

Even when an article is excepted from marking, CBP rules commonly address marking of the containers and related packaging scenarios. Importers remain responsible for confirming the applicable marking approach for their specific import and use case.

How this relates to medical device responsibilities

The same high-level principle applies to regulated products: certification and conformity obligations apply to the finished medical device and its validated manufacturing process (including the manufacturer’s quality system), not to a raw photoreactive resin “as supplied”.

For more information

Disclaimer

This page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Importers and manufacturers are responsible for determining the marking and regulatory obligations applicable to their specific products, packaging and validated workflows.