The J-List

What the list does not say

On this page11

Having moved the duty onto the container, the section describes it in three words Outermost is the only structural word in the phrase And ordinarily reaches is a statement about commercial practice Ultimate purchaser is a defined term and it carries the whole section So the section specifies a reader and declines to specify a package The marking content is also elsewhere Which is the borrowing pattern the Lacey Act takes to an extreme And the exemption itself is defined by reference So the J in J-List is a statutory subparagraph None of which bears on a jar of beads bought domestically References

The outermost container. Which is the only description it gives.

Having moved the duty onto the container, the section describes it in three words

The outermost container in which the article ordinarily reaches the ultimate purchaser. No material, no size, no closure, no surface requirement.

Outermost is the only structural word in the phrase

Which matters for a small part, because a bead arrives in a bag inside a box inside a carton. The requirement attaches to the one the purchaser actually receives.

And ordinarily reaches is a statement about commercial practice

Not about any particular shipment. The question is which container a good of that kind normally gets to a buyer in, which is a question about the trade rather than about a consignment.

Ultimate purchaser is a defined term and it carries the whole section

The marking exists for one reader, and the container requirement, the permanence requirement and the readability requirement are all measured against reaching that person.

So the section specifies a reader and declines to specify a package

Which is the same restraint the used oil storage rule shows: condition and two words, with no size, material or closure specified anywhere.

The marking content is also elsewhere

In accordance with the requirements of subpart C of this part. So the section creates the container duty and points at another subpart for what the marking has to say and how.

Which is the borrowing pattern the Lacey Act takes to an extreme

That statute creates offenses and imports every substantive standard from another body of law. This section does it once, within its own part, which is a milder version of the same drafting.

And the exemption itself is defined by reference

In accordance with the provisions of section 304(a)(3)(J), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. The regulation is implementing a statutory exception rather than creating one.

So the J in J-List is a statutory subparagraph

Which is worth knowing, because the name sounds like a classification and it is a citation. The list is the J list because it implements paragraph (J).

None of which bears on a jar of beads bought domestically

The part governs imported articles. Nothing on this shelf is described as imported, the catalog records no country of origin, and no page here applies any of this to any row.

References

19 CFR 134.33, J-List exceptions: "Articles of a class or kind listed below are excepted from the requirements of country of origin marking in accordance with the provisions of section 304(a)(3)(J), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(J)). However, in the case of any article described in this list which is imported in a container, the outermost container in which the article ordinarily reaches the ultimate purchaser is required to be marked to indicate the origin of its contents in accordance with the requirements of subpart C of this part. All articles are listed in Treasury Decisions 49690, 49835, and 49896. A reference different from the foregoing indicates an amendment." Entries include "Beads, unstrung", "Buttons", "Nails, spikes, and staples", "Bolts, nuts, and washers", "Bearings, ball, 5/8-inch or less in diameter", "Buckles, 1 inch or less in greatest dimension", "Glides, furniture, except glides with prongs", "Hooks, fish (except snelled fish hooks)", "Flowers, artificial, except bunches", "Feathers", "Hairnets", "Eggs", "Burlap", "Firewood", "Dowels, wooden", "Effects, theatrical", "Cards, playing", "Monuments" and "Livestock". law.cornell.edu

19 CFR 134.22. Paragraph (a): "Contents excepted from marking. When an article is excepted from the marking requirements by subpart D of this part, the outermost container or holder in which the article ordinarily reaches the ultimate purchaser shall be marked to indicate the country of origin of the article whether or not the article is marked to indicate its country of origin." Paragraph (b): containers subject to treatment as imported articles "shall be marked to indicate clearly the country of their own origin in addition to any marking which may be required to show the country of origin of their contents". Paragraph (c): containers bearing the name and address of a United States importer or distributor "shall be marked in close proximity to the U.S. address to indicate clearly the country of origin of the contents with a marking such as “Contents made in France” or “Contents Product of Spain.”" law.cornell.edu

Written from 19 CFR part 134 and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. Part 134 governs the country of origin marking of imported articles; it does not determine anything about any container on this shelf, and the catalog does not record a country of origin for any product. Nothing here states whether any article is on the J-List, which turns on tariff classification, or whether any container is a usual container, which turns on commercial practice, and nothing here is customs, import or classification advice. This shelf is the store-small-dry shelf plus three rows and the sewing notions property enumerates the shared part of it.