The country of origin of engineered wood flooring manufactured in China with a face ply of wood sourced from various other countries

N146815 March 7, 2011 CLA-2-44 OT:RR:NC:N2:230 CATEGORY: COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Ms. Deborah F. Janusa J.W. Allen & Company 200 Crofton Road, Box 34 Building 7D, Suite 800 Kenner, LA 70062 RE: The country of origin of engineered wood flooring manufactured in China with a face ply of wood sourced from various other countries Dear Ms. Janusa: This is in response to your letter, dated February 7, 2011, requesting a ruling on the country of origin of engineered wood flooring manufactured in China. You outline a scenario wherein a wood veneer face ply of non-Chinese origin (no specific country of origin was identified) is laminated onto a plywood substrate of Chinese origin and cut into strips in China. You indicate that the resulting strips may be shipped to a third country - USA, Indonesia, or Taiwan - for profiling and finishing. 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). In the instant case, neither the lamination of face plies to substrates nor the profiling or finishing of cut strips effects a substantial transformation. You state in your letter that the substrate, which is composed of between two and eleven layers of wood, is of a plywood construction. The Explanatory Notes of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (ENs) for Heading 4412, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), explain that plywood is constructed of three or more layers of wood laminated together and generally disposed with the grain of each layer at an angle to that of the subsequent layer. Substrates of a plywood construction of three layers or more are classifiable as plywood under Heading 4412, HTSUS. The lamination of a veneer face ply onto a substrate of three or more layers results in a product that is still plywood, classifiable in heading 4412, HTSUS. Substrates of only two layers do not constitute plywood, but instead are laminated panels - also of Heading 4412, HTSUS. The lamination of a veneer face ply onto a substrate of two layers renders plywood, yet does not significantly change the classification; the article is still classifiable in Heading 4412, HTSUS. The lamination of the veneer face ply to the substrate, therefore, does not render a new and different article. Legal Note 4 to Chapter 44, HTSUS, indicates that articles of Heading 4412, HTSUS, can be continuously shaped (e.g., tongue and grooved) in the manner of articles of Heading 4409, HTSUS, provided that the shaping does not render the product an article of a different heading. As both plywood and tongue and grooved, engineered flooring panels are specifically provided for within Heading 4412, HTSUS, continuous shaping does not render the panels articles of a different heading. Finishing does not substantially transform the flooring panels either; surface-covered, finished plywood and floor panels are also provided for within Heading 4412, HTSUS. The shaping and finishing, therefore, do not render a new and different article. Because no substantial transformation is effected by any of the manufacturing, neither the materials nor processing sourced outside of China impacts the country of origin of the imported goods. The country of origin for the complete flooring panels is China. In your letter, you indicate that the wood veneer face plies range in thickness from 0.6-6.5mm. Additional US Note 4(b) to Chapter 44, HTSUS indicates that multi-layer, assembled flooring panels with a face ply of 4mm or more in thickness are classifiable in Heading 4418, HTSUS. The addition of a face ply greater than 4mm in thickness would change the classification of the flooring panels from Heading 4412 to 4418, HTSUS. While this manufacturing might be considered to render a new and different article, the manufacturing effecting the transformation takes place in China, still leaving China as the country of origin. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 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, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division