CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:2:230
Mr. Robert W. Snyder
Law Offices of Robert W. Snyder
15375 Barranca Parkway
Irvine, CA 92618
RE: The tariff classification of multilayered wood flooring from China
Dear Mr. Snyder:
In your letter dated April 6, 2012, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Alston, Inc.
The ruling was requested on a multilayered wood flooring panel. A representative sample was submitted for our review.
The 13mm-thick panel consists of a 3mm-thick veneer of maple laminated to a pine backing. The sample measures 5” (w) x 11 ¾” (l). . The backing is composed of two continuously shaped (tongued and grooved), fingerjointed strips that form the plank’s edges, and central lumber fingers that are oriented perpendicular to the strips. The inner edges of the strips and the ends of the fingers are joined by a zigzag shaping much like fingerjointing. You do not identify the length of the flooring panels to be imported.
The construction of this product meets the definition of a veneered panel as set forth in the Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized System for heading 4412: “Veneered panels…are panels consisting of a thin veneer of wood affixed to a base, usually of inferior wood, by gluing under pressure.”
The applicable subheading for the multilayered wood flooring will be 4412.99.5100, HTSUS, which provides for Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood: Other (than plywood consisting solely of sheets of wood under 6 mm in thickness): Other (than blockboard, laminboard and battenboard): With at least one outer ply of nonconiferous wood: Other (than with at least one layer of particle board): Other (than plywood). The rate of duty will be free.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
You have requested that Customs and Border Protection determine whether the instant product falls within the scope of the anti-dumping order on multilayered wood flooring from the People’s Republic of China. The instant product may be subject to antidumping duties or countervailing duties. Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Import Administration in the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection. You can contact them at http://www.trade.gov/ia/ (click on “Contact Us”). For your information, you can view a list of current AD/CVD cases at the United States International Trade Commission website at http://www.usitc.gov (click on “Antidumping and countervailing duty investigations”), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using the AD/CVD Search tool at http://addcvd.cbp.gov/.
The wood flooring in question, which is tongued and grooved with an interlocking profile, may be subject to an ITC exclusion order dealing with certain laminated floor panels (ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-545). The determination of whether your flooring panels are subject to the ITC Exclusion Order will be made independently of the tariff classification ruling. For further information on admissibility please contact your local Customs office prior to importation of the goods. If you require a written ruling on whether the exclusion order applies to your flooring panels, you should submit a ruling request with a sample of the flooring panels to the following office: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, IPR & Restricted Merchandise Branch, Regulations and Rulings, 799 9th Street N.W. – 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20229-1177.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Laurel Duvall at (646) 733-3035.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division