China Wooden Bedroom Furniture: Commerce Finds Ethan Allen Chests Subject to AD Duties
Just because furniture is sold in a living room set doesn’t mean it isn’t wooden bedroom furniture, said the Commerce Department in a May 27 scope ruling. Commerce ruled that four types of chests imported from China by Ethan Allen are subject to AD duties on wooden bedroom furniture from China. It also found that marketing as part of a bedroom set is not required for a product to be considered wooden bedroom furniture.
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Ethan Allen imports four types of chests from Fook Yik Furniture International in China: the Marlene, Nadine, Serpentine and Vivca models. Each chest is between 34 and 44 inches wide, 17 and 21 inches deep, and 32.5 and 34.5 inches tall. The Marlene, Nadine and Serpentine chests are “accent” or “stand-alone” pieces sold separate from Ethan Allen’s bedroom collections. The Vivica chest is part of a three-piece living room set consisting of the chest, a sofa table, and a coffee table.
Chests and chests of drawers are specifically covered by the language of the AD duty order on wooden bedroom furniture, said Commerce. But the Court of International Trade has previously ruled that not all are. In a 2008 case on Toys “R” Us toy boxes, the court ruled that Commerce also needed to analyze whether chests are for use in the bedroom. Commerce noted that, in this case, “the chests allow for adequate storage space for clothing and thus are physically akin to chests of drawers and similar items of [wooden bedroom furniture].”
Bedroom Furniture Doesn’t Have to be in Bedroom Sets, Says Commerce
Ethan Allen argued that its Marlene, Nadine, and Serpentine models aren’t wooden bedroom furniture because they are not sold as part of coordinated bedroom groups. But Commerce disagreed, noting that the scope says wooden bedroom furniture is “generally, but not exclusively” sold as sets. “Wooden furniture need not be part of a coordinated bedroom group in order to be considered bedroom furniture for the purposes of” the wooden bedroom furniture order, said Commerce.
Although some chests are manufactured for use in the living room, Commerce said they are made in a “manner that differs fundamentally from chests used in a bedroom.” Living room chests are usually more decorative and not as deep as bedroom chests, it said. Ethan Allen’s Marlene, Nadine and Serpentine chests, on the other hand, “do not have any unique physical or decorative characteristics that distinguish them from subject bedroom chests to such an extent that one can conclude that they are fabricated for use in a living room, but not in a bedroom,” said Commerce. Instead, they are just like bedroom chests in that they are deep enough to store clothing, and should thus be subject to AD duties, it said.
Vivica Sold in Living Room Set, but Could be Used in Bedroom Too
Meanwhile, Commerce found that the fact that the Vivica chest is sold in a living room set is one factor in deciding whether it’s wooden bedroom furniture, but not the only one. “If a piece of furniture, like the Vivica chest, is ‘designed, manufactured and offered for sale in a coordinated group’ for a room other than a bedroom ‘in which all of the individual pieces are approximately the same style and approximately the same material and/or finish,’ we believe this warrants additional analysis,” said Commerce.
Turning to the physical characteristics and uses of the Vivica, Commerce found the Vivica is deep enough to be suitable for storing clothing. And although Ethan Allen argued that the Vivica is more akin to living room furniture because of its unique mirrored surface and mitered frame, Commerce said that decorative aspects are not limited to living room furniture, and noted that it had found mirrored chests to be wooden bedroom furniture before.
And despite the fact that the Vivica is sold in a living room set, Commerce pointed out that Ethan Allen advertises on its own website the “New Eclecticism” concept, or use of furniture in the bedroom that is primarily made and marketed for other rooms like the kitchen or living room. The sofa table sold as part of the Vivica set is even shown in a bedroom in a picture on the Ethan Allen website. “We have determined that customers could expect to use the Vivica chest in a bedroom” said Commerce. “It shares the size and dimensions of other wooden bedroom chests covered by the [order], and as noted above, can hold clothing,” it said. “”Furthermore, because Ethan Allen advertises the use of the Vivica Sofa Table in the bedroom, one might expect a customer to also consider using the matching chest in the bedroom as well,” said Commerce as it found the Vivica to also be subject to AD duties.
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