PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Requires importers to follow a declaration program for many kinds of softwood lumber. It covers softwood boards and products in certain tariff categories, including sawn coniferous wood thicker than 6 millimeters, shaped siding and flooring, drilled or notched and angle-cut lumber, and other continuously shaped pieces. It also covers some components like stringers, radius-cut box-spring parts, fence pickets, truss and pallet parts, and door and window frame parts unless other rules in the law apply. Some products are left out or treated as special cases. Excluded items include trusses and truss kits, I-joists, assembled box-spring frames, pallets, garage doors, edge-glued wood, complete door or window frames, furniture, temporary duty-exempt imports, and household or personal effects. Certain items are exempt if they meet specific rules: stringers with at least two equally spaced forklift notches and proper classification; box-spring kits that include exactly the listed rails and slats, are individually packaged, and have no piece over 1 inch thick or 83 inches long; radius-cut parts and fence pickets that meet size and cut requirements (pickets 1 inch or less thick, up to 8 inches wide, up to 6 feet long, with allowed decorative cuts and dog-eared corner specs of at least 3/4 inch); U.S.-origin lumber sent abroad only for minor processing (kiln drying, planing, sanding) if origin is proven to Customs; any softwood that can be shown to have been first produced in the United States; and single-family home kits of at least 700 square feet that include all listed parts and are sold under a signed retail contract. For home kits, importers must keep the matching plans, the signed purchase contract, a parts list, and, if several shipments cover one kit, a list showing what each shipment contains. The President will use the product descriptions here to decide which items are covered.

Title 19, §1683b

Customs Duties, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Products included in program

The following products shall be subject to the importer declaration program established under section 1683a of this title:

(1)In general

All softwood lumber and softwood lumber products classified under subheading 4407.10.00, 4409.10.10, 4409.10.20, or 4409.10.90 of the HTS, including the following softwood lumber, flooring, and siding:

(A)Coniferous wood, sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded, or finger-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 millimeters.

(B)Coniferous wood siding (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rabbeted, chamfered, v-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded, or the like) along any of its edges or faces, whether or not planed, sanded, or finger-jointed.

(C)Other coniferous wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rabbeted, chamfered, v-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded, or the like) along any of its edges or faces (other than wood moldings and wood dowel rods) whether or not planed, sanded, or finger-jointed.

(D)Coniferous wood flooring (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rabbeted, chamfered, v-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded, or the like) along any of its edges or faces, whether or not planed, sanded, or finger-jointed.

(E)Coniferous drilled and notched lumber and angle cut lumber.

(2)Products continually shaped

Any product classified under subheading 4409.10.05 of the HTS that is continually shaped along its end or side edges.

(3)Other lumber products

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) or (c), softwood lumber products that are stringers, radius-cut box-spring frame components, fence pickets, truss components, pallet components, and door and window frame parts classified under subheading 4418.90.46.95, 4421.90.70.40, or 4421.90.97.40 of the HTS.

(b)Products excluded from program

The following products shall be excluded from the importer declaration program established under section 1683a of this title:

(1)Trusses and truss kits, properly classified under subheading 4418.90 of the HTS.

(2)I-joist beams.

(3)Assembled box-spring frames.

(4)Pallets and pallet kits, properly classified under subheading 4415.20 of HTS.

(5)Garage doors.

(6)Edge-glued wood, properly classified under subheading 4421.90.97.40 of the HTS.

(7)Complete door frames.

(8)Complete window frames.

(9)Furniture.

(10)Articles brought into the United States temporarily and for which an exemption from duty is claimed under subchapter XIII of chapter 98 of the HTS.

(11)Household and personal effects.

(c)Exceptions for certain products

The following softwood lumber products shall not be subject to the importer declaration program established under section 1683a of this title:

(1)Stringers

Stringers (pallet components used for runners), if the stringers—

(A)have at least 2 notches on the side, positioned at equal distance from the center, to properly accommodate forklift blades; and

(B)are properly classified under subheading 4421.90.97.40 of the HTS.

(2)Box-spring frame kits

(A)In general

Box-spring frame kits, if—

(i)the kits contain—

(I)2 wooden side rails;

(II)2 wooden end (or top) rails; and

(III)varying numbers of wooden slats; and

(ii)the side rails and the end rails are radius-cut at both ends.

(B)Packaging

Any kit described in subparagraph (A) shall be individually packaged, and contain the exact number of wooden components needed to make the box-spring frame described on the entry documents, with no further processing required. None of the components contained in the package may exceed 1 inch in actual thickness or 83 inches in length.

(3)Radius-cut box-spring frame components

Radius-cut box-spring frame components, not exceeding 1 inch in actual thickness or 83 inches in length, ready for assembly without further processing, if radius cuts are present on both ends of the boards and are substantial cuts so as to completely round 1 corner.

(4)Fence pickets

Fence pickets requiring no further processing and properly classified under subheading 4421.90.70 of the HTS, 1 inch or less in actual thickness, up to 8 inches wide, and 6 feet or less in length, and having finials or decorative cuttings that clearly identify them as fence pickets. In the case of dog-eared fence pickets, the corners of the boards shall be cut off so as to remove pieces of wood in the shape of isosceles right angle triangles with sides measuring ¾ of an inch or more.

(5)United States-origin lumber

Lumber originating in the United States that is exported to another country for minor processing and imported into the United States if—

(A)the processing occurring in another country is limited to kiln drying, planing to create smooth-to-size board, and sanding; and

(B)the importer establishes to the satisfaction of U.S. Customs and Border Protection upon entry that the lumber originated in the United States.

(6)Softwood lumber

Any softwood lumber or softwood lumber product that originated in the United States, if the importer, exporter, foreign processor, or original United States producer establishes to the satisfaction of U.S. Customs and Border Protection upon entry that the softwood lumber entered and documented as originating in the United States was first produced in the United States.

(7)Home packages or kits

(A)In general

Softwood lumber or softwood lumber products contained in a single family home package or kit, regardless of the classification under the HTS, if the importer declares that the following requirements have been met:

(i)The package or kit constitutes a full package of the number of wooden pieces specified in the plan, design, or blueprint necessary to produce a home of at least 700 square feet produced to a specified plan, design, or blueprint.

(ii)The package or kit contains—

(I)all necessary internal and external doors and windows, nails, screws, glue, subfloor, sheathing, beams, posts, and connectors; and

(II)if included in the purchase contract, the decking, trim, drywall, and roof shingles specified in the plan, design, or blueprint.

(iii)Prior to importation, the package or kit is sold to a United States retailer that sells complete home packages or kits pursuant to a valid purchase contract referencing the particular home design, plan, or blueprint, and the contract is signed by a customer not affiliated with the importer.

(iv)Softwood lumber products entered as part of the package or kit, whether in a single entry or multiple entries on multiple days, are to be used solely for the construction of the single family home specified by the home design, plan, or blueprint matching the U.S. Customs and Border Protection import entry.

(B)Additional documentation required for home packages and kits

In the case of each entry of products described in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (A) the following documentation shall be retained by the importer and made available to U.S. Customs and Border Protection upon request:

(i)A copy of the appropriate home design, plan, or blueprint matching the customs entry in the United States.

(ii)A purchase contract from a retailer of home kits or packages signed by a customer not affiliated with the importer.

(iii)A listing of all parts in the package or kit being entered into the United States that conforms to the home design, plan, or blueprint for which such parts are being imported.

(iv)If a single contract involves multiple entries, an identification of all the items required to be listed under clause (iii) that are included in each individual shipment.

(d)Products covered

For purposes of determining if a product is covered by the importer declaration program, the President shall be guided by the article descriptions provided in this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 1683a of this title, referred to in subsecs. (a) to (c), was in the original section “803”, and was translated as meaning the section 803 of act June 17, 1930, as added by section 3301(a) of Pub. L. 110–246, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective 60 days after June 18, 2008, see section 3301(b) of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as a note under section 1683 of this title.

§1683b Scope of Softwood Lumber Importer Declaration Program