CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:2:230
Mr. William M. Friend
Strategis Floor & Décor, Inc.
420 Trans Canada
Longueuil, Quebec J4G1N8
Canada
RE: The tariff classification of laminate fiberboard flooring panels from China
Dear Mr. Friend:
In your letter dated November 3, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The ruling was requested on laminate fiberboard flooring panels. Photographs and detailed product specifications were submitted for our review.
The flooring panel measures approximately 12mm in thickness, and is imported in panels measuring 195mm wide by 1820mm long. The board is tongue and grooved with an interlocking profile on its edges and ends. The face is overlaid with a decorative, wood grain-printed paper and is finished with a transparent material. The back of the panel is covered with a balancing paper. The fiberboard is produced by the dry production process, during which thermosetting resins are added to dried wood fibers and subjected to high heat and pressure.
The manufacturing of wood fiber by the dry production process is a distinguishing characteristic of medium density fiberboard (MDF). This point is consistent with the description of MDF set forth in the Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized System (ENs).
The applicable subheading for the fiberboard flooring panels will be 4411.14.2000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Fiberboard of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not bonded with resins or other organic substances: Medium density fiberboard (MDF): Of a thickness exceeding 9mm: Other: Tongued, grooved or rabbetted continuously along any of its edges and dedicated for use in the construction of walls, ceilings or other parts of buildings: Laminated boards bonded in whole or in part, or impregnated, with synthetic resins. The rate of duty will be 1.9 cents per kilogram plus 1.5 percent ad valorem.
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/.
The laminated 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 [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division