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NY C83800




February 13, 1998

CLA-2-44:RR:NC:SP:230 C83800

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4412.29.5500

Mr. James F. Morgan
F.W. Myers & Co., Inc.
2600 Cabover Drive, Suite A
Hanover, MD 21076

RE: The tariff classification of bamboo flooring from China.

Dear Mr. Morgan:

In your letter dated January 21, 1998, on behalf of Mintec Corporation (Towson, MD), you requested a tariff classification ruling. Four samples of bamboo flooring were submitted and will be retained for reference.

The sample labeled "Bamtex 54" is a section of a plank or board approximately 9 cm wide and 18 mm thick. It is made up of three layers of bamboo which have been laminated together. (The face, core and back are 6, 7 and 5 mm thick, respectively.) Each layer consists of flat, horizontally oriented, edge-glued strips of bamboo. The grain of all the strips in the plank runs in the same direction. The bottom surface has two broad, shallow grooves running down its length. The top surface has been coated with a finishing material identified as acrylic urethane. The edges of the sample are tongued and grooved, and you state that in their imported condition, all of the boards of your ruling request will be so worked on their edges and ends, ready for installation as flooring in residential or commercial settings.

The sample labeled "Bamtex 31" is essentially the same as the above, except that it is slightly thinner (15 mm) and has a natural (uncoated) finish. Its three layers measure approxi-mately 5, 5 1/2 and 4 1/2 mm in thickness, respectively.

The sample labeled "Bamtex 22" is essentially the same as "Bamtex 31", except that it is composed of only two layers of bamboo, the thickness of the face being 5 1/2 mm and the back 6 1/2 mm.

The sample labeled "Bamtex 14" differs from the above products in that it is composed of narrow strips of bamboo, 5 1/2 mm thick by 12 mm wide, which have been laminated together, on the wide surface, to create a board 12 mm thick by 9 cm wide. This board has been coated with a finishing material on its top surface.

We note your opinion that all of the above-described merchandise is classifiable in heading 4409, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for certain continuously-shaped wood. That heading, however, encompasses only solid, one-piece products (or finger-jointed products composed of solid one-piece sections), and does not include laminated or built-up items such as the submitted samples.

The applicable subheading for the "Bamtex 54", "31", "22" and "14" floor boards will be 4412.29.5500, HTS, which provides for other veneered panels and similar laminated wood, with at least one outer ply of nonconiferous wood. The rate of duty will be 0.8%.

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 212-466-5779.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski

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