CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:2:230
Mr. William Friend
Strategis Floor & Décor, Inc.
420 Trans Canada
Longueuil, Quebec J4G1N8
Canada
RE: The tariff classification of wood flooring panels from China
Dear Mr. Friend:
In your letter dated November 10, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The ruling was returned to you for additional information, which you resubmitted to this office on August 3, 2015.
The ruling was requested on various flooring panels. Five representative samples, identified as #1, #2, #4, #7 and # 13, were submitted for our review. The samples will be retained for future reference.
The sample labeled #1 is a laminate fiberboard flooring panel measuring approximately 125mm (w) x 12mm thick. The panel 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 applicable subheading for the MDF flooring panel 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.
The sample labeled #2 is a wood flooring panel measuring approximately 190mm (w) x 18mm thick. The flooring consists of nine plies of wood veneers laminated together so that the grains of the plies run at angles to each other. The face ply consists of a 3mm thick veneer of oak (Quercus alba). The core plies consist of 1 to 3 mm thick veneers of Eucalyptus. The edges and ends are tongued and grooved. The panels will be imported in various lengths up to 2100mm.
The classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs), taken in order. GRI 1 requires that classification be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the heading and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs will be applied, in the order of their appearance.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level (for the 4 digit headings and the 6 digit subheadings) and facilitate classification under the HTSUS by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and the GRIs. While neither legally binding nor dispositive of classification issues, the ENs provide commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127-28 (Aug. 23, 1989).
The ENs to heading 44.12 describe the term "plywood" as follows: Plywood consist(s) 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. According to the submitted description, composition, and construction of the subject merchandise, the panels in question are within the scope of the term "plywood" of heading 4412, HTSUS.
The applicable subheading for the plywood flooring with a face ply of oak will be 4412.32.3125, HTSUS, which provides for Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood: Other plywood, consisting solely of sheets of wood, each ply not exceeding 6 mm in thickness: Other, with at least one outer ply of nonconiferous wood: 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: Other (than with a face ply of certain enumerated species): Wood flooring. The rate of duty will be 8 percent ad valorem.
The sample labeled #4 is a wood flooring panel measuring approximately 137mm (w) x 12.4mm thick. The panels will be imported in lengths up to 2100mm. The panel is constructed of a 2mm thick wood veneer of strand-construction eucalyptus laminated onto a 9mm-thick layer of high density fiberboard (HDF). The panel is backed with a 1mm-thick wood veneer of poplar. The panel is tongued and grooved on its edges and ends with an interlocking profile and finished with a polyurethane coating.
The sample labeled #7 is a wood flooring panel measuring approximately 130mm (w) x 12mm thick. The panel is constructed of a 2.2mm thick wood veneer of strand-construction bamboo laminated onto a 6mm- thick layer of high density fiberboard (HDF). The panel is backed with a 2mm-thick wood veneer of poplar. The panel is tongued and grooved on its edges and ends with an interlocking profile and finished with a polyurethane coating.
The sample labeled #13 is a wood flooring panel measuring approximately 127mm (w) x 12mm thick. The panel is constructed of a 2mm thick wood veneer of White Oak laminated onto a 6mm- thick layer of HDF. The panel is backed with a 1.8mm-thick wood veneer of poplar. The panel is tongued and grooved on its edges and ends with an interlocking profile and finished with a polyurethane coating.
Panels #4, #7, and #13 meet the definition of a “veneered panel” as set forth in the ENs to the HTSUS 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.” Therefore, in accordance with General Rule of Interpretation 1, the product will be classified in heading 4412, which specifically provides for veneered panels.
The applicable subheading for the panels #4 and #13 will be 4412.99.5105, 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.
The applicable subheading for panel #7 will be 4412.10.9000, HTSUS, which provides for Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood: Of bamboo: 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 flooring panels in question may be subject to antidumping duties or countervailing duties. A list of AD/CVD proceedings at the Department of Commerce (DOC) and their product coverage can be obtained from the DOC website at: http://trade.gov/enforcement, or you may write to them at the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Antidumping Compliance, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20230. 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 U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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