Made in PRC

How to read it

The People’s Republic of China was founded on the mainland on 1 October 1949, and PRC is its initials. US import rules (19 CFR Part 134) ask for the full English name of the country of origin on foreign goods, and allow an abbreviation only where it unmistakably indicates the country, such as “Gt. Britain”. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has ruled since at least 1985 that PRC does not pass that test. Its 1998 ruling on a junior golf set says the abbreviation “PRC” is not acceptable for articles imported from the People’s Republic of China, and that “P.R. China” or “China” would be. CBP repeated the point in rulings of 2015 and 2023.

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Is PRC the same as China?

Yes. PRC is the People’s Republic of China, and CBP treats an item marked “Made in PRC” as made in China, asking for the word China instead. In its 2015 ruling an exporter wrote that a US customer had asked whether labels on products made in China could be changed from “Made in China” to “Made in PRC”. CBP answered that it has repeatedly found the abbreviation not acceptable for country of origin marking.

Where you’ll see it

The mark still turns up on goods sold in the US. In 2023 CBP looked at the box of a music box set that said “INVENTED IN FRANCE” and “Designed In France” in large, bold type, with “Made in PRC” on the last line of the bottom of the box. CBP called that country of origin marking incorrect, and said the box would pass with “Made in China” close to the French wording, in the same size and colour.

PRC or ROC?

The two marks differ by one letter and name different places. ROC is the Republic of China, the government that moved to Taiwan in 1949; PRC is the government on the mainland. US Customs asks for “Taiwan” on goods from Taiwan, so the familiar form is Made in Taiwan R.O.C., with Taiwan first. Goods made in Hong Kong since late 2020 also carry China for the US market (see Made in Hong Kong).

Goods from the PRC in the US

The State Department’s Office of the Historian records that the United States refused to recognise or establish relations with the PRC after its founding in 1949, and recognised it on 1 January 1979. On 14 April 1971 President Nixon announced that direct imports of designated items from China would be authorised once he had approved a list, and on 10 June 1971 the White House announced the end of trade controls on imports of nonstrategic items from the People’s Republic of China.