CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Bryon Brown
Global Sourcing
Lifetime Products Inc.
Freeport Center, Building D-11
Clearfield, UT 84016
RE: The tariff classification of a folding table and folding table frame from China.
Dear Mr. Brown:
In your letter dated December 9, 2011, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
Model number 2301 is a folding table with a Polyethylene (HDPE) top and a tubular powder coated steel frame. Specification sheets, identified with part numbers ZT77200 and ZT78100, are cross referenced to the 2301 table; these sheets refer to this item as a card table. The blow-molded top is composed of Ultraviolet (UV) protected, double-wall, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). The top is not made from reinforced or laminated plastics. The top weighs 4.55kgs and the metal frame weighs 2.69kgs, while the frame cost more than the top. The diameter of the steel tubing is 1.14 inches. Each leg of the frame independently folds. The dimensions of the table when open are 37 inches long by 37 inches wide by 29 inches high. The dimensions of the table when folded are 37 inches long by 37 inches wide by 1.9 inches high. This item is depicted in the photo with an almond tabletop and a bronze colored frame.
Under the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), specifically at GRI 3 (b), the folding table is composed of different components (plastic and metal) and is therefore considered a composite good. Composite goods under GRI 3 (b) will be classified as if consisting of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable. When the essential character of a composite good can be determined, the whole product is classified as if it consisted only of that material or component which imparts the essential character to the composite good.
The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the HTSUS, at GRI 3 (b) (VIII), state that the factor which determines essential character will vary between different kinds of goods. It may for example, be determined by the nature of the materials or components, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods. In regards to the folding table, the Online Oxford Dictionary defines a table as a piece of furniture consisting of a raised flat top of wood, stone, or other solid material, supported on one or more legs, and providing a level surface for working at or on which to place things for various purposes. As the metal frame appears ordinary in nature and is of the kind common to most folding tables, it is our opinion that the plastic tabletop imparts the essential character of the good, in that, the top weighs more and has a greater visual surface area, and moreover, allows one to fulfill the functionality of the good depending upon individual choice. Accordingly, the folding table with plastic top is classified under subheading 9403.70 – the subheading for furniture of plastics.
The applicable subheading for the folding table with a plastic top, supported on a steel frame, will be 9403.70.8015, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Furniture of plastics: Other; Other household.” The rate of duty will be free.
In your original ruling request, you indicated that the folding, metal table frame may be imported separate from that of the complete table. Under GRI 2 (a), “any reference to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as presented, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. It shall also include a reference to that article complete or finished (or falling to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.” By application of GRI 2 (a), the metal table frame has the essential character of the incomplete folding table, thereby classifying the article under subheading 9403.20, HTSUS – the subheading for other metal furniture: household. See New York Ruling: N097755 dated March 23, 2010.
The applicable subheading for the folding, metal table frame, will be 9403.20.0018, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Other metal furniture: Household: Other.” 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/.
The folding table and its frame may be subject to antidumping duties pursuant to case number A-570-868 – the dumping investigation of folding metal tables and chairs from China. Written decisions regarding the scope of antidumping 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 antidumping (AD) or countervailing duty (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/
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 Neil H. Levy at (646) 733-3036.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division