CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:1:130
Ms. Amy Davidson
Tumac Lumber Co., Inc.
805 SW Broadway Suite 1500
Portland, OR 97205
RE: The country of origin of veneered fiberboard panels from Vietnam
Dear Ms. Davidson:
In your letter, dated January 25, 2018, you requested a binding country of origin ruling. The ruling was requested on veneered fiberboard panels. Product information was submitted for our review.
You describe a scenario wherein logs harvested in the United States are shipped to China, where they are peeled into veneers. A medium density fiberboard (MDF) sheet is manufactured in China, Vietnam, or another country. The MDF will form the panel core. In Vietnam, the veneers, which form the front and back plies, are laminated to the MDF core to form a three-layer panel. The panel is sanded, graded, and may be cut to size in Vietnam. These panels are then exported to the United States.
Section 134.1(b) of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b)) provides that the "[c]ountry of origin" means the country of manufacture, production or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the "country of origin" within the meaning of Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134). Substantial transformation requires that "[t]here must be a transformation; a new and different article must emerge, ‘having distinctive name, character, or use.’" Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association v. United States, 207 U.S. 556, 28 S. Ct 204 (1908).
In the instant case, the lamination of wood veneers to an MDF core effects a substantial transformation. The U.S. logs, classified in heading 4403, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), are cut into veneers in China, which are classifiable in heading 4408, HTSUS. This is a clear example of substantial transformation, where a new and different article is created through manufacturing. This change of heading indicates the substantial transformation, rendering China the country of origin of the veneers. The MDF core, regardless of where it is manufactured, is classifiable in heading 4411, HTSUS. The lamination of the veneers to the MDF core in Vietnam creates a new and different article: a veneered panel. Veneered panels are specifically provided for in heading 4412, HTSUS. The change from headings 4408 and 4411, HTSUS, to heading 4412, HTSUS clearly indicates a substantial transformation.
We note that you identify the panel as “plywood”. The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized System (ENs) for Heading 4412, HTSUS, explain that plywood is constructed of “three or more layers of wood laminated together and generally disposed with the grain of each layer at an angle to that of the subsequent layer.” Because the MDF core has no grain, the panel does not meet the definition of “plywood”. Instead, in tariff terms, it is a “veneered panel”, i.e., a panel consisting of a veneer affixed to a base, usually of inferior wood.
Because the manufacturing in Vietnam creates a new and different article, substantially transformed from its veneer and MDF components, the country of origin of the panels is Vietnam.
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 [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division