CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:N3:230
Ms. Sandra Mericle
C.H. Robinson
7261 Engle Road
Suite 400
Middleburg Heights, OH 44130
RE: The tariff classification of surface covered plywood panels from China
Dear Ms. Mericle:
In your letter, dated August 3, 2017, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, P.S. Furniture, Inc. The ruling was requested on surface covered plywood panels. Product information and photos were submitted for our review.
The ruling request concerns plywood panels that have been overlaid on their face and back with melamine-impregnated paper. The paper is printed in a wood pattern and obscures the grain of the wood beneath it. The panels measure approximately 4’ wide by 8’ long by 15mm thick and are constructed of multiple poplar (a non-coniferous wood) veneers. Each panel consists of at least seven veneer plies, laminated one atop the next, with the grain of each ply running at an angle to that of the subsequent plies. As the panels measure 15mm in thickness, and the plies are of equal thickness, no ply exceeds 6mm in thickness.
Heading 4412, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), provides specifically for plywood, veneered panels, and similar laminated wood. Plywood is defined in the Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized System as panels “consisting of three or more sheets of wood glued and pressed one on the other and generally disposed so that the grains of successive layers are at an angle." The instant panels meet this definition, and are therefore classifiable in heading 4412, HTSUS.
Additional U.S. Note 1(c) to Chapter 44, HTSUS, defines the term “surface covered”, as referenced in heading 4412, HTSUS:
The term "surface covered," as applied to the articles of headings 4411 and 4412, means that one or more exterior surfaces of a product have been treated with creosote or other wood preservatives, or with fillers, sealers, waxes, oils, stains, varnishes, paints or enamels, or have been overlaid with paper, fabric, plastics, base metal, or other material.
The instant panel is overlaid on its face and back, i.e., the exterior surfaces of the panel, with opaque, printed, melamine-impregnated paper. Paper, which is specifically named in the above definition, constitutes a surface covering for a product of heading 4412.
In your letter, you suggest that the panels are classifiable under subheading 4412.39.5050, HTSUS. We disagree. The plywood is constructed of poplar wood. Poplar is a non-coniferous wood, not a coniferous wood as you suggest. Therefore, classification in subheading 4412.39, HTSUS, which provides for plywood panels with both outer plies consisting of coniferous wood, is precluded.
The applicable subheading for the surface covered plywood panels will be 4412.32.5700, HTSUS, which provides for Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood: Other plywood consisting solely of sheets of wood (other than bamboo), each ply not exceeding 6 mm in thickness: Other, with at least one outer ply of nonconiferous wood: Other (than Not surface covered, or surface covered with a clear or transparent material which does not obscure the grain, texture or markings of the face ply). The rate of duty will be 8 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 https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
The instant panels may be subject to antidumping duties and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) for imports of hardwood plywood from China. Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Enforcement and Compliance office in the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). You can contact them at http://trade.gov/enforcement/ (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 https://www.usitc.gov (click on “Antidumping and Countervailing Duty” under “Popular Topics” at the top of the screen), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using CBP’s AD/CVD Search tool at http://addcvd.cbp.gov/.
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