The tariff classification of multilayer wood flooring panels from China

N274033 April 12, 2016 CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:2:230 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 4418.72.9500 Mr. Eric R. Tonsager L. D. Tonsager & Sons, Inc. P.O. Box 55517 Portland, OR 97238-5517 RE: The tariff classification of multilayer wood flooring panels from China Dear Mr. Tonsager: In your letter dated March 17, 2016, you requested a ruling on behalf of your client, AsiaWood (Hong Kong) Ltd. The ruling was requested for multilayer wood flooring panels. Photographs and product information were submitted for our review. The wood flooring, identified as AsiaWood Tri-Lam Hybrid Flooring, measures 2.5” to 3.5” nominal width and 12mm to 18mm in thickness. Each panel is an assembly of three layers of wood laminated together with the grains of each layer running parallel to that of the next layer. The layers are offset to create tongue and groove joinery on the panel’s edges and ends. You state that the 12mm thick panel is constructed of three layers, each measuring 4mm in thickness. The layers in the 15mm panel each measure 5mm in thickness, and the layers in the 18mm panel each measure 6mm in thickness. The panels are constructed of white oak, red oak, walnut, or hickory woods. You do not indicate the length of the panels that will be imported. Each of the panels is faced with a veneer, i.e., a layer of wood not exceeding 6mm in thickness. The panels meet the definition of a “veneered panel” as set forth in the Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized System; each is constructed of a thin veneer of wood affixed to a base, usually of inferior wood, by glueing under pressure. However, while heading 4412, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), provides for veneered panels, Additional U.S. Note 4(b) governs the classification of this panel: “Heading 4418 includes multi-layer assembled flooring panels having a face ply 4 mm or more in thickness.” Because each panel is an assembled flooring panel faced with a veneer of 4mm or more in thickness, they are classifiable in heading 4418, HTSUS. The applicable subheading for the AsiaWood Tri-Lam Hybrid Flooring will be 4418.72.9500, HTSUS, which provides for Builders' joinery and carpentry of wood, including cellular wood panels and assembled flooring panels; shingles and shakes: Assembled flooring panels: Other, multilayer: Other: Other. The rate of duty will be 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 https://hts.usitc.gov/current. The merchandise in question may be subject to antidumping duties or 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 [email protected]. Sincerely, Deborah C. Marinucci Acting Director National Commodity Specialist Division