Federal Court Upholds Definition of Engineered Flooring as Plywood

The U.S. Federal Circuit court of appeals decided Wednesday to uphold the decision that engineered flooring, such as the products manufactured by Kährs International Inc. of Sweden, should be subject to the same tariffs as plywood.

The case, Kährs International Inc. v. United States, hinged on whether engineered flooring should be defined as builder's joinery, which can be imported duty-free, or as plywood, which has an 8 percent ad valorem duty.

The court said that the definition of builder's joinery-items "used as non-structural elements in the construction of buildings"-applied, but was too broad to be of use. On the other hand, the much more specific definition of plywood-"at least three plies of wood with each ply arranged at right angles to adjacent plies, and with plies bonded together"-more accurately describes the products.

The illustration of engineered flooring that appears on the Kährs website.

Kährs argued that its products do not fit the commercial definition of plywood, and they are better described as assembled parquet panels under the builders' joinery heading. While the court agreed that the company's products had certain features related to their intended use as flooring, it said the features were not "sufficiently significant to transform its identity."

"We're not happy with the decision, but the court has made a decision and we may very well ask them to reconsider it," said Carl Cammarata, the attorney who represented Kährs. "We feel quite strongly that this flooring should not be classified as plywood."