CLA-2 RR:TC:TE 960469 RH
Mr. Tony Collini
John S. Connor, Inc.
The World Trade Center
401 E. Pratt Street, Suite 700
Baltimore, MD 21202
Re: Laminated veneer lumber; builders'carpentry; joinery;
heading 4412; heading 4418;
glulam;
Dear Mr. Collini:
This is in reply to your letters dated April 26, 1996, and July
18, 1997, on behalf of McCausey Wood Products, Inc., requesting a
ruling on the classification of wood products. As we informed
you in our letter, reference number 959277, dated February 13,
1997, we were unable to rule on your first request because of a
pending case before the Court of International Trade. That case
was recently dismissed and we are now able to issue a ruling
letter concerning your client's product.
In this ruling, however, we will also consider the information
submitted in the initial request.
FACTS:
The merchandise under consideration is "MASTER PLANK." It is
known in the trade as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), which is
made of veneers laminated together to form panels of various
thicknesses with the grain of each veneer running in the same
direction. The manufactured lumber in this case is cut to various
lengths ranging from 8 to 40 feet. You state that the MASTER
PLANK has many uses and is limited only by the creativeness of
the ultimate consumer.
- 2 -
You further state that your client has been importing the wood in
question for twenty-five years under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), which became
effective January 1, 1989, and its predecessor, the Tariff
Schedules of the United States (TSUS), as laminated veneer
lumber. On January 20, 1990, however, Customs issued
Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 086255 and HQ 086256, which
classified LVL as builders'carpentry of heading 4418, HTSUSA.
You maintain that the LVL wood is classifiable as veneer panels
under subheading 4412.99.9590, HTSUSA.
ISSUE:
Whether the LVL is classifiable as other veneer panels under
heading 4412, HTSUSA, or as builders' carpentry under heading
4418, HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under the HTSUSA is governed by the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that
classification shall be determined according to the terms of the
headings, and any relative section or chapter notes. Heading
4412 provides for "Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated
wood." The products under this heading are characterized by the
presence of wood veneer layers or plies which are laminated
together.
The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System (Harmonized System) constitute the
official interpretation of the scope and content of the
nomenclature at the international level. They represent the
considered views of classification experts of the Harmonized
System Committee. While not treated as dispositive, the EN are
to be given considerable weight in Customs interpretation of the
HTSUSA. It has, therefore, been the practice of the Customs
Service to consult the terms of the EN when interpreting the
HTSUSA.
The EN to heading 4412 state, in part, that heading 4412 does not
cover massive products such as laminated beams and arches (so-called glulam' products) (generally heading 44.18). [Emphasis
in original].
In HQ 086255 and 086356, we held that laminated veneer lumber
produced in thicknesses of 3/4 inch to 2 « inches and in lengths
of 8 to 60 feet was not classifiable in heading 4412 as it did
not meet the description of plywood, veneered panels or similar
laminated wood. We stated that LVL was not plywood because the
plies were parallel rather than at an angle, and that it was not
veneered panels as described in the EN because such panels
consist of a thin veneer of wood affixed to a base, usually of
inferior wood. - 3 -
The pertinent portion of those rulings reads as follows:
[I]t is clear that LVL is a structural lumber product
that is used in a variety of load-bearing applications
in the construction industry. It is a highly
engineered product which is designed in many instances
as a direct substitute for glue laminated timber. The
Explanatory Notes to heading 4418 specifically provide
that the term builders' carpentry includes glulam. In
view of the similarity as to use between glulam and LVL
and its use as a structural lumber product generally,
we find that LVL is properly classifiable in heading
4418.
We agree that LVL is not constructed like plywood. Like veneer
panels, however, the critical feature of LVL is that it is
composed of laminated veneers. Glulam, on the other hand, is
made from lumber that is face and edge glued together to form
massive products. In HQ 088292, dated February 21, 1991, we held
that glulam is a particular type of structural timber product
obtained by gluing together a number of wood laminations in a
certain way to provide structural strength. Special
construction, dimension and load bearing capacity are all
features of glulam.
LVL does not have any recognizable features which dedicate and
limit its use to the construction of buildings. Although LVL may
be used for that purpose, it is a multiple use wood material
similar to plywood panels, lumber boards and other wood boards.
Your client lists various uses for the LVL. For example, it may
be used in many nonstructural applications such as scaffolding,
planks, concrete forming, core material for windows and door
manufacturing, furniture manufacturing, truck flooring, ladder
rails, etc. Like lumber, it may be cut to many sizes and further
manufactured for a variety of uses.
Based on the foregoing, the expertise of the Customs National
Import Specialist and the photographs and literature concerning
the merchandise, we find that LVL is a multi-use product with a
construction similar to a veneer panel. Accordingly, it is
classifiable in subheading 4412.99.9590, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The MASTER PLANK LVL is classifiable under subheading
4412.99.9590, HTSUSA, which provides for "Plywood, veneered
panels and similar laminated wood: Other: Other: Other: Other."
It is dutiable at the general column rate at 1.6 percent ad
valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division