Glass Mosaic Tiles Were Eligible for Section 301 Exclusion, Importer Argues at Trade Court

Imported glass mosaic tiles from China should have been granted Section 301 tariff exclusions due to their size, said importer Anatolia Tile & Stone in a May 31 complaint at the Court of International Trade. Anatolia is challenging CBP's denial of 42 protests, which sought to remove the 25% duty assigned by CBP at liquidation. The company asked the court to order CBP to reliquidate the entries and refund any excess duties paid with interest (Anatolia Tile & Stone v. U.S., CIT # 21-00245).

Anatolia contests CBP's denials of its protests, which the agency said were on the grounds of insufficient documentation. Anatolia argued that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative specifically excluded “tiles of non-recycled glass on a vinyl mesh backing, in a grid pattern of not less than 304 mm by 304 mm and not exceeding 305 mm by 305 mm, for mosaics or other decorative or construction purposes (described in statistical reporting number 7016.10.0000)” following the granting of a third party's exclusion request.

Anatolia says that its imported tiles conform to that exclusion language. Although the individual tiles within the mosaic vary in size, they adhere to a 12" square fiber backing. That size is an "industry-standard," which is commonly and commercially known to be a reference for the installed finished size. When converted to metric, 12" equals approximately 304.8 mm as described in the exclusion and the applicant that obtained that exclusion described its own goods as 12” x 12” squares, Anatolia said.

"The USTR and CBP should take into account and consider common and commercial meanings and applicable 'industry standards' when reviewing products and when interpreting Section 301 exclusions and should not interpret them in a manner that would render an exclusion to apply to a null set," Anatolia said.

The tiles were imported between December 2018 and March 2019 under HTS subheading 7016.10.0000 as “Glass and other glass smallwares, whether or not on a backing, for mosaics or similar decorative purposes."