H310648

 HQ H310648 January 19, 2023 OT:RR:CTF:CPMMA H310648 MAB CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 4421.99.9880 Mr. Lars-Erik A. Hjelm, Esq. Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP 1333 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20036-1564 Re: Modification of NY N041645; Classification of wood slats, wood valances, and wood bottom rails for wood blinds imported from China, Vietnam, and Mexico Dear Mr. Hjelm: This letter is in reference to your New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N041645, dated October 30, 2008, involving the classification of wood components including slats, valances, and bottom rails, used in the construction of window blinds, including three styles with a UV coating, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). In NY N041645, all of the aforementioned wood components were classified in subheading 4409.29.9000, HTSUSA (“Annotated”), as “[w]ood (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: Other.” After reviewing this ruling, CBP finds it to be partially in error. For the reasons set forth below, CBP is modifying NY N041645 with respect to the wood components with UV coatings only. The remaining analysis of NY N041645 remains unchanged. Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Pub. L. No. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057, 2186 (1993), notice of the proposed action was published on October 12, 2022, in Volume 56, Number 40, of the Customs Bulletin. One comment was received in response to this notice, which is addressed below. FACTS: In NY N041645, we described the merchandise as follows: The subject wood products are made of solid basswood (Tilia Americana), a Nonconiferous wood species. You state that in their imported condition, the wood products in question are not finished window blinds. After importation into the United States, [the importer] will cut the wood products to custom lengths, punch channel holes, and assemble them with cords and hardware. Five representative samples of the wood products in question were submitted. They are described as follows: Wood valance – primed and painted white. The valences measure between 3/8 to 3/4 inch in thickness, 3 to 5 inches in width, and 3 to 10 feet in length. The face and the edges are continuously shaped to a pattern along the length. The valances will be imported either stained or painted. Wood slat – with stain base and “stain coating” (“2 PASS SLAT TOPCOAT”), which is stated to be a slightly tinted paint. The wood slats measure 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch in thickness, range from 1 inch to 2-5/8 inches in width, and will be imported in lengths of 3 to 10 feet. The slats have rounded edges along the length. The slats will be imported either stained or painted. Wood bottom rail – primed, painted white, and with a UV protective coat. The bottom rails measure 5/8 inch in thickness, 1 to 2.5 inches in width, and 3 to 10 feet in length. The rails are continuously shaped to a pattern along the length. The rails will be imported either stained or painted. Wood slat - with stain base, stain coating, and with a UV protective coat. (See sample #2 for sizes and finishing options.) The slats have rounded edges along the length. Wood bottom rail - with primer and white paint. (See sample #3 for sizes and finishing options.) The edges are continuously shaped to a pattern along the length. We further note that your ruling request, dated September 16, 2008, leading to the issuance NY N041645, described sample #2 to include a clear UV coat. ISSUE: Whether the finished wood slats and wood bottom rails with UV coatings used in the manufacture of window blinds are classified in heading 4409, HTSUS, as “[w]ood … continuously shaped … [n]onconiferous …” or in heading 4421, HTSUS, as “[o]ther articles of wood.” LAW AND ANALYSIS: Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI”). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. If the goods cannot be classified solely based on GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs may then be applied. The 2023 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows: 4409 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: 4409.29 Other: Other: 6810.19.12.00 4909.29.9100 Other … 6810.19.14.00 4421 Other articles of wood: Other: 4421.99 Other: Other: 4421.99.98 Other 4421.99.9880 Other … * * * In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, although neither dispositive nor legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989). EN 44.09 states the following, in relevant part: The heading also excludes : … (e) Wood which has been surface worked beyond planing or sanding, other than painting, staining or varnishing (e.g., veneered, polished, bronzed, or faced with metal leaf) (generally heading 44.21). * * * The classification of samples #1 and #5 in heading 4409, HTSUS, is not in dispute, as primer and paint are permitted coatings in accordance with the ENs to heading 44.09; thus, their classification in subheading 4409.29.9100, HTSUSA, as “[w]ood … continuously shaped … [n]onconiferous …”, remains unchanged. Unlike samples #1 and #5, however, the remaining samples—in addition to painting or staining—are also coated with a UV protective coat (samples #2, #3, and #4). Accordingly, we examine whether this additional UV protective coat is a permissible coating for merchandise classifiable in heading 4409, HTSUS, or whether samples #2, #3, and #4 are classified elsewhere. We note that a UV coating applied to wood products is essentially a liquid plastic layer, such as acrylic or polyurethane, that is cured with ultraviolet light. Pursuant to EN 44.09, wood that has been “surface worked beyond planing or sanding, other than painting, staining, or varnishing” is excluded from classification in heading 4409, HTSUS. Thus, the question before us is whether the application of UV coatings constitutes a finishing process whereby the subject wood blind parts are “surface worked beyond planing or sanding.” It is CBP’s established practice that continuously shaped wood coated with UV coatings, lacquer, polyurethane, aluminum oxide (in polyurethane), acrylic, and the like, is precluded from classification in heading 4409, HTSUS, as these coatings fall under the exclusion described in EN 44.09 as wood that has been “surface worked beyond planing or sanding, other than painting, staining, or varnishing…” See, e.g., NY 892737, dated February 9, 1994 (lacquered picture frame moldings classified in heading 4421, HTSUS); NY I83439, dated July 25, 2002 (wood flooring coated with clear polyurethane and acrylic classified in heading 4418 and 4412, HTSUS); NY K82706, dated February 20, 2004 (wood flooring coated with polyurethane classified in heading 4418, HTSUS); NY K88580, dated September 13, 2004 (wood floors with UV-cured aluminum oxide or polyurethane coating classified in heading 4412 or 4418, HTSUS, respectively); NY L82292, dated February 25, 2005 (wood floor

Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI”). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. If the goods cannot be classified solely based on GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs may then be applied. The 2023 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:4409 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: 4409.29 Other: Other: 6810.19.12.00 4909.29.9100 Other …6810.19.14.00 4421 Other articles of wood: Other:4421.99 Other: Other:4421.99.98 Other4421.99.9880 Other …* * * In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, although neither dispositive nor legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989). EN 44.09 states the following, in relevant part: The heading also excludes : …(e) Wood which has been surface worked beyond planing or sanding, other than painting, staining or varnishing (e.g., veneered, polished, bronzed, or faced with metal leaf) (generally heading 44.21).* * *The classification of samples #1 and #5 in heading 4409, HTSUS, is not in dispute, as primer and paint are permitted coatings in accordance with the ENs to heading 44.09; thus, their classification in subheading 4409.29.9100, HTSUSA, as “[w]ood … continuously shaped … [n]onconiferous …”, remains unchanged. Unlike samples #1 and #5,