The tariff classification of unfinished hardwood moldings from China

 N318566 April 22, 2021 CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:N1:130 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 9903.88.03; 4409.29.4100; 4418.99.9095 Mr. Kyle Neugebauer M-D Building Products Inc 4041 N Santa Fe Avenue Oklahoma City, OK 73012 RE: The tariff classification of unfinished hardwood moldings from China Dear Mr. Neugebauer: In your letter, dated March 29, 2021, you requested a binding tariff classification ruling. The ruling was requested on unfinished hardwood moldings. Photos and product information were submitted for our review. The products under consideration are wooden moldings constructed of solid oak. They are not edge-glued and are not coated with any material. You indicate that each of these moldings is used in a doorway to cover the gap formed where two uneven flooring surfaces meet. These are also known as “transition moldings”. Item 11882 M-D Flat Door Threshold measures approximately 1 3/4” wide by 5/16” thick by 36” long and is shaped with a trapezoidal continuous profile throughout its length. You state that it is pre-drilled with holes for installation and is packaged with metal fasteners. Item 11742 Threshold Oak measures approximately 3 1/2" wide by 3/4" thick by 36” long and is continuously shaped throughout its length. The molding is multisided and is designed to transition a lower flooring surface to a higher flooring surface. In your request, you indicate that this product is not drilled. However, we note that the photo provided shows a part that is drilled and has fasteners. We will classify this product according to your written description, i.e., undrilled. Item 11924 3-Inch Flat Hardwood Threshold measures approximately 3” wide by 3/8” thick by 36” long and is also continuously shaped throughout its length. The profile of this piece is trapezoidal with a concave bottom surface. You indicate that this molding is not drilled. In understanding the language of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes may be utilized. The Explanatory Notes (ENs), although not dispositive nor legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).Heading 4418, HTSUS, provides for “Builders’ joinery and carpentry of wood, including cellular wood panels and assembled flooring panels”. The ENs explain that goods of heading 4418, HTSUS, are “…woodwork, including that of wood marquetry or inlaid wood, used in the construction of any kind of building, etc., in the form of assembled goods or as recognisable unassembled pieces (e.g., prepared with tenons, mortises, dovetails or other similar joints for assembly), whether or not with their metal fittings such as hinges, locks, etc.” Item 11882 M-D Flat Door Threshold is a pre-drilled flooring transition that is packaged with fasteners and is ready for installation as imported. As such, it is a recognizable wood product used in the construction of a building and therefore meets the terms of heading 4418. The applicable subheading for item 11882 M-D Flat Door Threshold will be 4418.99.9095, HTSUS, which provides for Builders’ joinery and carpentry of wood, including cellular wood panels and assembled flooring panels; shingles and shakes: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other. The rate of duty will be 3.2 percent ad valorem. The ENs to the Harmonized System for heading 4409 explain that the heading includes: “Moulded wood (also known as mouldings or beadings), i.e., strips of wood shaped to various contours (obtained mechanically or by hand), such as are used for the manufacture of picture frames, decoration of walls, furniture, doors and other carpentry or joinery.” Furthermore, Additional U.S. Note 1(b) to Chapter 44, HTSUS, explains that “(t)he term ‘standard wood moldings’ means moldings worked to a pattern and having the same profile in cross section throughout their length.” Item 11742 Threshold Oak and Item 11924 3-Inch Flat Hardwood Threshold are strips of wood shaped to various contours or patterns with the same profile in cross section throughout their length. The shaping is intended to be aesthetic. They therefore meet the term “standard wood moldings”. At time of importation, these two parts are not dedicated by their manufacturing for any specific purpose; they are merely moldings classifiable in heading 4409. The applicable subheading for Item 11742 Threshold Oak and Item 11924 3-Inch Flat Hardwood Threshold will be 4409.29.4100, HTSUS, which provides for Wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rebated, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges, ends or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed: Nonconiferous: Other: Other: Wood moldings: Standard wood moldings. The rate of duty will be free. Pursuant to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III, Chapter 99, HTSUS, products of China classified under subheadings 4409.29.4100 and 4418.99.9095, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading, i.e., 9903.88.03, in addition to subheading 4409.29.4100 or 4418.99.9095, HTSUS, listed above. The HTSUS is subject to periodic amendment, so you should exercise reasonable care in monitoring the status of goods covered by the Note cited above and the applicable Chapter 99 subheading. For background information regarding the trade remedy initiated pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, including information on exclusions and their effective dates, you may refer to the relevant parts of the USTR and CBP websites, which are available at https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/tariff-actions and https://www.cbp.gov/trade/remedies/301-certain-products-china, respectively. The merchandise in question may be subject to antidumping duties and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) for wood mouldings and millwork products from China (A570-117, C570-118). 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 https://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/trade_remedy/documents/orders.xls, and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using CBP’s AD/CVD Search tool at https://aceservices.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb. 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. 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