CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 083795 JLJ, 836257
Mr. Dennis L. Holman, Manager
Norman G. Jensen, Inc.
P.O. Box 1450
Blaine, Washington 98230
RE: Classification of Red Cedar "Short Boards"
Dear Mr. Holman:
You requested a tariff classification ruling for a red cedar
board imported from Canada for your client, Teal Cedar Products
of British Columbia, Canada. You submitted a sample along with
your letter.
FACTS:
Similar merchandise has been ruled on previously by Customs
Headquarters in Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 082694 of
April 11, 1989 (copy enclosed). HRL 082694 held that certain
Western red cedar "short boards" were classified as unfinished
shakes and shingles under the provision for shingles and shakes,
of red cedar, in subheading 4418.50.0040, Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA).
You refer to the instant merchandise as "a red cedar board
that has been tapered to form the core of a shingle." In a
conversation with our New York office, you explained that, after
importation into the United States, the boards are sawn in half
across the thickness to produce two complete shingles with no
change in width nor in length.
The instant sample is a tapered red cedar board measuring
18-1/4 inches long by approximately 10-11/16 inches wide. It is
7/8 inch (22 millimeters) thick at the butt end (i.e., thick end)
and 9/32 inch (7 millimeters) thick at the tip (i.e., thin end).
-2-
ISSUE:
Are the instant red cedar boards classified as unfinished
shakes and shingles?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
There is a specific eo nomine provision for shingles and
shakes of red cedar in subheading 4418.50.0040, HTSUSA, under
Heading 4418, which specifically provides for shingles and
shakes.
The Explanatory Notes for Heading 4418, HTSUSA, define a
"shingle" as follows:
A shingle is wood sawn lengthwise which is generally thicker
than 5 millimeters at one end (the butt) but thinner than 5
millimeters at the other end (the tip). It may have its
edges resawn to be parallel; its butt may be resawn to be at
right angles to its edges or to form a curve or other shape.
One of its faces may be sanded from the butt to the tip or
grooved along its length.
The instant merchandise fits within this definition, except
that its tip is 7 millimeters, not thinner than 5 millimeters.
You argue that the instant merchandise has a tip which is too
thick to fit within the definition set forth above. We note that
the Explanatory Notes state that a shingle's tip is
"generally...thinner than 5 millimeters...." This means that,
while a shingle's tip is usually thinner than 5 millimeters, it
need not always be thinner than 5 millimeters. We further note
that, once the instant merchandise is sawn in half in the United
States to make the finished shingle, the tip of the final product
will measure only 3-1/2 millimeters, which does fall within the
dimensions set forth in the Explanatory Notes.
You cite various other headings as possible classifications
for these boards, but only Heading 4418 covers shingles and
shakes.
General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 2(a), HTSUSA, states
that:
Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken
to include a reference to that article incomplete or
unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete
or unfinished article has the essential character of
the complete or finished article.***
-3-
Given the end use of the instant merchandise and the fact
that it is one cutting operation away from being two shingles, we
find that the precedent set in HRL 082694 applies to this
merchandise also, i.e., that the instant red cedar boards have
the essential character of shingles. GRI 2(a) mandates that they
be classified as unfinished shingles in subheading 4418.50.0040,
HTSUSA, dutiable at the current rate of 20 percent ad valorem
under HTSUSA subheading 9903.44.24.
HOLDING:
The instant red cedar boards are unfinished shingles and
shakes. They are classified in subheading 4418.50.0040, HTSUSA.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division
Enclosure
6cc: A.D., NY Seaport (NIS-230)
1cc: P.D., Lynden, Wash.
1cc: D.D., Seattle
1cc: P.D., Sumas, Wash.
JLJohnson:tj:05/23/89
Jones Library
name: 083795JLJ