CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:N2:230
Mr. Harry Isacoff, Esq.
Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP
399 Park Avenue, 25th Floor
New York, NY 10022-4877
RE: The tariff classification of Engineered Wood Flooring from Indonesia
Dear Mr. Isacoff:
In your letter dated September 6, 2007, on behalf of SG USA Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling. The three samples which you submitted are being returned as requested.
The subject merchandise, Engineered Wood Flooring, will be imported in the following sizes: 9 mm to 18 mm in thickness, 135 mm in width, and 600 mm to 1800 mm in length. The flooring will be composed of 3 to 9 plies of wood veneers (all plies will not exceed 6 mm in thickness) laminated together with the grains running at an angle to each other (plywood construction). The face ply will consist of a wood veneer of a thickness less than 4 mm. The back ply will consist of a 1 mm thick veneer, and the middle plies (core) will consist of wood veneers with a thickness of up to 5 mm. The flooring panels will be tongued and grooved on the edges and ends. The face ply may be natural or stained and finished with a clear coat containing aluminum oxide.
The face ply will consist of one of the following wood species: Merbau, Kempas, Bengkirai, nyatoh, Mindi, Lingua, Mahoni, Maple, White Oak, Red Oak, Hickory or Walnut. The Walnut, according to the submitted sample, is “Pacific Walnut” or Dahu. (This wood species is not a walnut of the Juglans genus but rather a species of the Dracontomelon dao genus.)
The back ply will consist of a veneer of either Dark Red Meranti, Light Red Meranti, or White Lauan. The middle plies (core) will consist of a mixed Indonesian meranti species.
The applicable subheading for the subject Engineered Wood Flooring with a plywood construction and with one outer ply of dark Red Meranti, Light Red Meranti, or White Lauan will be 4412.31.4070, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for: Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood: Plywood consisting solely of sheets of wood, each ply not exceeding 6 mm in thickness: With at least one outer ply of tropical wood specified in subheading note 1 to this chapter: 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: With at least one outer ply of the following tropical woods: Dark Red Meranti, Light Red Meranti, White Lauan, Sipo, Limba, Okoume, Obeche, Acajou d’Afrique, Sapelli, Virola, Mahogany, Palissandre de Para, Palissandre de Rio or Palissandre de Rose: Other (than mahogany): Other: Other. The duty rate will be 8 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 http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
Articles classifiable under subheading 4412.31.4070, HTSUS, which are products of Indonesia, may be entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. The GSP is subject to modification and periodic suspension, which may affect the status of your transaction at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. To obtain current information on GSP, check our Web site at www.cbp.gov and search for the term "GSP".
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 Paul Garretto at 646-733-3035.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division