CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Martha De Castro
Customs Compliance Specialist
Bed Bath & Beyond
700 Liberty Avenue
Union, NJ 07083
RE: The tariff classification of a floor standing ironing board from China.
Dear Ms. De Castro:
In your letter dated November 22, 2013, on behalf of Liberty Procurement Company, Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling. Photos were provided.
SKU # 42243519 is described as a floor standing ironing board. The iron board consists of folding steel legs which are attached to a non-reinforced polypropylene (PP) plastic-top with circular steam flow through holes. The iron board measures about 54-inches wide by 15-inches deep by 36.5-inches high. The ironing board comes with a 100% polyester cover and has a cotton fiber pad. The material cost breakdown that was provided indicates that the dominant material is shared equally between the plastic-top and the steel legs.
The floor standing ironing board is composed of different components (metal, plastic and textile materials) and is considered a composite good. The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), GRI 3 (b) (VIII), state that “the factor which determines essential character will vary between different kinds of goods. It may for example, be determined by the nature of the materials or components, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.” When the essential character of a composite good can be determined, the whole product is classified as if it consisted only of the material or component that imparts the essential character to the composite good.
Although the costs of the dominant materials are identical, and in most instances the weight of the metal legs would exceed that of the plastic-top, we are of the opinion that the plastic-top of the floor standing ironing board imparts the essential character to the good. The name of the item, ironing board, is not only indicative of the identity of the good, but moreover, the plastic-top allows for the functionality of the item, which is to support an article of clothing prior to the force of the iron used to press against the padded surface for purposes of removing wrinkles out of clothing. Accordingly, the item is classified in subheading 9403.70, HTSUS, the subheading for furniture of plastics.
The applicable subheading for the floor standing ironing board, having a plastic-top, will be 9403.70.8015, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Furniture of plastics: Other: Other household. 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/.
You request that we confirm that the floor standing ironing board with a plastic-top does not fall within the scope of the antidumping order for floor standing metal-top ironing tables from China, case number A-570-888. Written decisions regarding the scope of Antidumping Dumping (AD) orders and Countervailing Duties (CVD) 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”) on the procedures of how to file a scope ruling request for the Aviator Headboard. Additionally, you can view a list of current AD and 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 Neil H. Levy at (646) 733-3036.
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Acting Director
National Commodity Specialist Division