Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings Aug. 14
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Aug. 14 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
H318654: Application for Further Review of Protest number 2704-18-101934; Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the People’s Republic of China; Antidumping Duties; Inter Continent Exports LLC
| Ruling: The protest is granted in part. The Platine de Royale Wall Mirrors, Desk, Sideboard, Curio Cabinet Base and Top, Rectangular Dining Table Top, Oval Cocktail Table, Chair Side Table, End Table, the Villa Valencia Accent Wall Mirror with Storage, the Windsor Court Curio Cabinet Top, Gathering Table, Court Buffet, and Rectangular Cocktail Table, the Hazelnut Villagio Round Wood Top Dining Table and Table Top, and the Sovereign Buffet are all outside of the scope of the orders. Entries for the subject merchandise must be reliquidated without AD duties assessed on these entry lines. The protest is also denied in part. CBP Properly assessed AD duties on all other merchandise at issue. |
| Issue: Did CBP apply the correct antidumping duty rate on the entries of wooden furniture? |
| Items: 18 entries of various furniture from China |
| Reason: The wall mirrors are designed and marketed to hang above a sideboard. The order excludes mirrors that do not “attach to, incorporate in, sit on, or hang over a dresser.” The Platine de Royale Desk matches the physical characteristics of an excluded office desk by having a flat surface area for writing, dimensions that are consistent with writing in a home office setting. Dining room furniture and various tables are not "bedroom furniture" and are excluded. It is "well settled" that CBP merely follows Commerce’s instructions when assessing and collecting antidumping duties. The calculation of a rate is not a customs matter, and we decline to address this argument. |
| Ruling Date: July 6, 2023 |
H325548: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 1704-22-105336; Tariff classification of chainsaw guide bar
| Ruling: The guide bar is properly classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. subheading 8467.91.01 as “[T]ools for working in the hand, pneumatic, hydraulic or with self-contained electric or nonelectric motor, and parts thereof: Parts: Of chain saws.” |
| Issue: Is the subject chainsaw guide bar classifiable as a holder for hand tools under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. subheading 8466.10.01 or as a chainsaw part under subheading 8467.91.01? |
| Item: A metal bar around which a chainsaw blade spins. The guide bar holds the chainsaw blade in place and keeps it straight while cutting. Guide bars are replaceable components of chainsaws. The subject bar guide is made of base metal and features a passive nose sprocket, which is not connected to the saw’s power head and does not transfer energy to the chain. |
| Reason: The subject chainsaw guide bar is not covered by heading 8466 as it is neither used with the machines of headings 8456 to 8465 nor does it hold or guide a handheld tool. The guide bar holds and guides a chainsaw blade, which is not a handheld tool. A chainsaw machine tool, in its entirety, is a handheld tool classified under heading 8467, HTSUS, and its “holder” would be the handle and body to which a guide bar and chain saw blade attach. |
| Ruling Date: June 13, 2023 |