Importer Files Three Complaints at CIT Seeking Reclassification of Wood Stile and Rail Imports

Importer Composite Technology International filed a trio of complaints at the Court of International Trade on Oct. 20 challenging CBP's tariff classification of its wooden stile and rail imports. When it denied Composite's protests, CBP pointed to a prior CIT ruling holding that the wooden stiles and rails fall under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 4421.90.97, but Composite argues for classification under subheading 4412.99.51 (Composite Technology International, Inc. v. United States, CIT #17-00175, #17-00129, #17-00178).

Across all three complaints, the imports at issue are stiles and rails used as door parts made exclusively of laminated veneered lumber, which is composed of thin layers of wood (All-LVL merchandise). Composite said that the All-LVL merchandise's layers were made of non-coniferous poplar wood with each layer laminated to one another with the grain of each layer parallel-oriented to one another.

CBP liquidated the goods under heading 4421, which provides for "Other articles of wood: Other: Other: Other," dutiable at 3.3%. Composite's preferred subheading, on the other hand, under heading 4412, provides for "Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood: Other: Other: With at least one outer ply of nonconiferous wood: Other: Other," and allows goods to enter duty-free.

One of the cases differed from the other two, however, since the products covered in the complaint also include rectangular-shaped lock blocks that are made from solid coniferous pine lumber and are used with doors. For these products, Composite is seeking for the court to reclassify them under HTS subheading 4409.10.90 -- a duty-free provision that provides for "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: Coniferous: Other: Other."

Composite argues that the General Rule of Interpretation 1 dictates that the All-LVL merchandise fits under its preferred subheading since it is "similar to veneered panels and similar laminated wood." Further, the plaintiff's merchandise doesn't have a pine cap which would definitely preclude it from being classified under HTS subheading 4412, the complaints said.