ITC Recommends Changes to HTS Chapter 44 Wood, Lumber and Plywood Provisions in 2018

The ITC’s report also recommends implementation of corrections to the WCO’s 2017 changes to the HS for chapters 3 and 63. These recommendations, which adopt the WCO’s in entirety, include replacing references to other tariff provisions in headings 0302 and 0303, and fixing tariff terms for subheading 6304.20 and subheading note 1 to chapter 63. If adopted, these changes would take effect Jan. 1, 2017.

Changes in the ITC’s report to chapter 44, on the other hand, include the deletion of existing HTS subheadings and the creation of new ones. If adopted by presidential proclamation, these changes would take effect Jan. 1, 2018, as follows:

Fuel logs. Current subheading 4401.10.00 for fuel wood, “in logs, in billets, in twigs, in faggots or in similar forms,” would be subdivided into subheading 4401.11.00 for coniferous fuel wood, and 4401.12.00 for non-coniferous fuel wood.

Sawdust and wood scrap. Under the current HTS, sawdust and wood waste and scrap is classified in subheadings 4401.31 through 4401.39 under tariff provisions for “sawdust and wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms.” The ITC recommends separating loose sawdust and scrap from agglomerated sawdust and scrap by amending the superior subheading for 4401.31 through 4401.39 to refer to "sawdust and wood waste and scrap, agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms,” and creating new subheading 4401.40.00 for "sawdust and wood waste and scrap, not agglomerated.”

The new subheading would be further subdivided into statistical breakouts 4401.40.0010 for loose sawdust, 4401.40.0020 for loose shavings, and 4401.40.0090 for other sawdust, wood waste and scrap, not agglomerated. Current subheading 4401.39.40 would be renumbered as 4401.39.41.

Rough wood. Subheading 4403.10.00 for “Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared: Treated with paint, stain, creosote or other preservatives” would be eliminated and divided into provisions for coniferous wood under new subheading 4403.11.00, and non-coniferous wood under new subheading 4403.12.00. Each subheading would still be subdivided into statistical suffixes for poles, piles and posts (including telephone poles and fence posts), and “other.”

Similarly, current subheading 4403.20.00 for coniferous “wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared” that is not treated with preservatives would be eliminated and divided into new subheading 4403.21.00 for wood of pine (pinus spp.) with a cross section of 15 cm or more and new subheading 4403.22.00 for wood of pine (pinus spp.) with a cross section of less than 15 cm; new subheading 4403.23.00 for wood of fir (abies spp.) and spruce (picea spp.) with a cross section of 15 cm or more, and new subheading 4403.24.00 for wood of fir (abies spp.) and spruce (picea spp.) with a cross section of less than 15 cm; and new subheading 4403.25.00 for other coniferous wood with a cross section of 15 cm or more, and new subheading 4403.26.00 for other coniferous wood with a cross section of less than 15 cm. As with current subheading 4403.20.00, each of these subheadings would be further subdivided into statistical suffixes for pulpwood, poles, piles and posts, logs and timber of various species, and “other.”

Non-coniferous wood would also be broken out in greater detail under the ITC’s recommendations. Currently, beech wood in the rough is classified under subheading 4403.92.00, with certain other non-tropical hardwood species classified under statistical suffixes of the “other” category 4403.99.00. The ITC is recommending that the subheading for beech wood in the rough be eliminated and divided into subheadings 4403.93.00 for beech in the rough with a cross section greater than 15 cm, and 4403.94.00 for beech in the rough with a cross section less than 15 cm.

Wood in the rough of birch would be classified on its own in subheading 4403.95.00 if it has a cross section of 15 cm or more, and 4403.96.00 if it does not. Wood in the rough of poplar and eucalyptus would be given their own subheadings, 4403.97.00 and 4403.98.00, respectively. Subheadings for birch, poplar and eucalyptus would be further subdivided into statistical suffixes for pulpwood, poles, piles and posts, and “other.”

Rail ties. Subheading 4406.10.00 for “railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood: not impregnated” would be eliminated and replaced by subheadings 4406.11.00 for coniferous rail ties, not impregnated, and 4406.12.00 for non-coniferous rail ties, not impregnated. Similarly, subheading 4406.90.00 for “other” (i.e., impregnated) “railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood” would be eliminated and replaced with new subheadings 4406.91.00 for coniferous wood, and 4406.92.00 for non-coniferous wood.

Lumber. Current subheading 4407.10.00 for coniferous wood, sawn or chipped length-wise, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, thicker than 6 mm, would be eliminated and divided into new subheading 4407.11.00 for pine; 4407.12.00 for fir; and 4407.19.00 for other coniferous wood. As with current subheading 4407.10.00, each of these subheadings would be further subdivided into statistical suffixes for finger jointed wood, wood treated with preservatives, and non-finger jointed, non-treated wood of various species.

New additional U.S. note 3 to chapter 44 would be added to specify that “subheadings 4407.19.05 and 4407.19.06 cover combinations of the named species whose proportions are not readily identifiable.” As recommended, these subheading 4407.19.05 would refer to “mixtures of spruce, pine and fir ('S-P-F'), not treated with paint, stain, creosote or other preservative,” and 4407.19.06 would refer to “Mixtures of western hemlock and amabilis fir ('hem-fir'), not treated with paint, stain, creosote or other preservative.”

Lumber of birch and poplar are also broken out into their own subheadings under the ITC’s recommendations. Formerly classified in statistical breakouts under the residual “other’ subheading 4407.99.01 for non-coniferous wood, sawn or chipped length-wise, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, thicker than 6 mm, birch lumber would be classified under new subheading 4407.96.00 (with statistical suffixes for North American and European birch), and poplar would be classified under new subheading 4407.97.00 (with statistical suffixes for yellow and “other” poplar, including aspen and cottonwood).

Hardwood plywood. Current subheading 4412.32 for plywood “with at least one outer ply of non-coniferous wood” would be eliminated and replaced by new subheading 4412.33 for plywood with at least one outer ply of one of the following species: alder (Alnus spp.), ash (Fraxinus spp.), beech (Fagus spp.), birch (Betula spp.), cherry (Prunus spp.), chestnut (Castanea spp.), elm (Ulmus spp.), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.), hickory (Carya spp.), horse chestnut (Aesculus spp.), lime (Tilia spp.), maple (Acer spp.), oak (Quercus spp.), plane tree (Platanus spp.), poplar and aspen (Populus spp.), robinia (Robinia spp.), tulipwood (Liriodendron spp.) or walnut (Juglans spp.). New subheading 4412.34 would be created for plywood with at least one outer ply of a species of non-coniferous wood not listed in subheading 4412.33 (other than bamboo).

GSP changes. As a result of the above changes, general note 4(d), which lists HTS subheadings ineligible for Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) duty-free treatment when imported from certain countries, would have to be amended to remove defunct subheadings 4412.32.25, 4412.32.31 and 4412.32.56 for Brazil, and replace them with new subheadings 4412.33.25, 4412.33.31, 4412.33.56, 4412.34.25, 4412.34.31 and 4412.34.56.