The country of origin of engineered wood flooring manufactured in multiple countries

N231875 September 21, 2012 CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:2:230 CATEGORY: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Mr. John Troendle Crescent Hardwood Supply 1101 Sams Avenue Harahan, LA 70123 RE: The country of origin of engineered wood flooring manufactured in multiple countries Dear Mr. Troendle: This is in response to your letter, dated August 22, 2012, requesting a ruling on the country of origin of engineered wood flooring manufactured in multiple countries. You outline a scenario wherein: 1) veneers are peeled and substrate plywood is manufactured in China from birch logs sourced in Russia; 2) a 5mm solid wood veneer face ply is purchased from Russia, various unidentified South American nations, and China; 3) the veneers are laminated onto the substrate plywood in China; and 4) the resulting plywood is shaped and finished into flooring planks in China. 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). The peeling of veneers and manufacturing of plywood effects a substantial transformation of the Russian logs; the country of origin of the substrate plywood is China. In the instant case, the laminating of the wood veneer face onto the substrate plywood does not effect a substantial transformation of the plywood. The substrate is plywood, classifiable in heading 4412, and the substrate with a wear layer laminated to it is still plywood of heading 4412. The shaping and finishing of the flooring panels also do not effect a substantial transformation of the plywood; the finished flooring product is also classifiable as plywood in heading 4412. Therefore, the lamination and finishing do not render a new and different article. Because the substrate plywood is of Chinese origin, and no substantial transformation is effected by any of the additional manufacturing, the country of origin for the complete flooring panels is China. The instant product may fall within the scope of the anti-dumping and countervailing orders on multilayered wood flooring from the People’s Republic of China and may be subject to antidumping duties and countervailing duties. 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 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 AD/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 Laurel Duvall at (646) 733-3035. Sincerely, Thomas J. Russo Director National Commodity Specialist Division