China Aluminum Extrusions: Whirlpool Appliance Door Handles Subject to AD/CV Duties
Two models of aluminum kitchen appliance door handles imported by Whirlpool Corporation are covered by antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions from China (A-570-967/C-570-968), said the Commerce Department in a scope ruling issued Aug. 4. Neither of the two models -- one of which is made fully of aluminum extrusions, and the other of which also has plastic end caps -- consists of anything other than aluminum extrusions, so they aren’t eligible for the “finished goods” exemption from duties, said Commerce. The end caps are fasteners that don’t qualify the door handles for the exemption, it said.
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Whirlpool had argued the exemption for “finished goods” does not require that the product include materials other than aluminum extrusions and fasteners. The scope only says the finished goods exemption is for merchandise that is “fully and permanently assembled and completed at the time of entry.” And although the scope says “an imported product will not be considered a ‘finished goods kit’ … merely by including fasteners,” Whirlpool noted that the scope contains no such requirement for fully assembled “finished goods.” So not only are the appliance door handles with end caps exempt because they are finished goods with fasteners; so are the door handles without end caps because they meet the terms of the exemption for finished goods, said Whirlpool.
According to Commerce, Whirlpool’s interpretation “would permit this exclusion … to swallow the scope.” There’s no reason why merchandise consisting only of aluminum extrusions would be subject to duties when in kit form, but not when assembled into the finished product, said Commerce. Nor is there any reason why fasteners would count for finished goods, but not finished goods kits. To meet the requirements of both the finished goods and finished goods kits exemptions from duties, merchandise must include non-aluminum extrusion parts that aren’t fasteners, said Commerce. So the door handles without end caps, which are solely aluminum extrusions, do not qualify.
The door handles without plastic end caps don’t qualify for the exemption either, because the end caps are fasteners, said Commerce. Washers are defined as a “flat thin ring or a perforated plate used in joints or assemblies to ensure tightness, prevent leakage, or relieve friction,” said Commerce. The end caps are for attaching the handle to a refrigerator door “in a manner that allows the handle to fit tightly … and relieves friction between the door and the handle,” it said. Thus, the plastic end caps are like fasteners that are similar to washers, and don’t qualify the door handles for the finished goods exemption.
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of this scope ruling.