Unprinted Magnet Label Pouches Covered by AD/CV Duties on Raw Flexible Magnets From China, Commerce Says
Unprinted magnetic label holders imported by Tatco are subject to antidumping and countervailing duties on raw flexible magnets from China (A-570-922/C-570-923), the Commerce Department said in a scope ruling issued Aug. 23. The non-magnetic components of the magnet holders are not exempt from the AD/CV duty orders, it said. On the other hand, magnetic label holders printed with a zebra pattern are exempt from AD/CV duties, even though magnets with printed with “stripes” are covered, Commerce said.
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Each magnetic label holder imported by Tatco comprises a rectangular magnet strip, laminated on one side, with a clear plastic pocket heat sealed on the edges onto the laminated side of the magnet. The label holders are packaged with a detached fan of perforated fiberboard inserts that can be customized by the end user and placed within the plastic pocket, and a thin sheet of paper that can be placed between the fiberboard insert fan and the label holder when packaged. The label holders are used in the organization of a home or office to label contents of storage bins and filing cabinets.
Tatco argued AD/CV duties on raw flexible magnets are not applicable to packaging or other components within the packaging that are not raw flexible magnets. It acknowledged that the scope of the orders covers components that are bonded or laminated to a magnet, but said the fiberboard and paper are not attached in any way, and the clear plastic pockets are heat-sealed to the magnet, not bonded or laminated.
Commerce disagreed, finding the full assembly, when unprinted, is subject to AD/CV duties. Heat sealing is a way to bond materials, so the clear plastic pouches are expressly included by the scope’s language on materials bonded to raw flexible magnets. The scope also says that flexible magnets are covered “regardless of packaging,” so “there is no basis for expressly excluding from the scope the ‘thin sheet of paper placed between the fiberboard insert fan and the label holders,’” Commerce said. And the fiberboard inserts “have a single purpose -- to be used in Tatco’s Magnetic Label Holders,” it said.
On the other hand, Tatco’s label holders are not covered by AD/CV duties when printed with a zebra pattern. Printed raw flexible magnets are exempt from AD/CV duties, as long as the printing consists of more than “a trade mark or trade name; country of origin; border, stripes or lines.” The zebra pattern does not meet the definition of a stripe because it is not of the “same width throughout its length,” Commerce said. That the printing won’t be visible when the label holder is being used is irrelevant, Commerce said. The scope of the AD/CV duty orders says removable printing is not exempt, but the zebra pattern won’t be removed, just concealed, it said.
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of this scope ruling.