L-Cleat Brads Imported by Lumber Liquidators Subject to AD Duties on Chinese Nails, Says Commerce
L-shaped fasteners imported by Lumber Liquidators for use in the installation of hardwood flooring are subject to antidumping duties on steel nails from China (A-570-909), said the Commerce Department in a scope ruling issued July 23. Although Lumber Liquidators argued its “L-cleat brads” are exempt from duties because the AD duty order on nails from China specifically exempts “brads,” Commerce found that the fasteners are not brads but are instead cleat nails that are covered by the scope.
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Lumber Liquidators had pointed to the written scope of duties on steel nails from China, which exempts “brads and finish nails that are equal to or less than 0.0720 inches in shank diameter, round or rectangular in cross section, between 0.375 inches and 2.5 inches in length, and that are collated with adhesive or polyester film tape backed with a heat seal adhesive.” According to Commerce, the company’s “L-cleat brads” met the dimensional and collation requirements the scope set for the exemption, but the scope is ambiguous as to what constitutes a brad or finish nail.
Refusing to abide by common dictionary definitions, Commerce looked to the standards found in ASTM standards for brads. It found Lumber Liquidators’ L-cleat brads fell under none of them. The ASTM definitions generally described slender fasteners with small heads, usually made of wire, suitable for use in decorative trim or finished wood. On the other hand, the fasteners imported by Lumber Liquidators have a prominent L-shaped head, a rectangular cross-section, and are toothed. While brad nails are used in light duty applications, such as attaching trim or crown molding, the “L-cleat brads” are used to grip flooring without regard to the cosmetic finished look, with gripper barbs to hold the fastener in place and accommodate wood expansion.
Additionally, Lumber Liquidators advertised and displayed the fasteners on its website as “cleat nails,” and not as “brad nails.” The L-cleat brads imported by Lumber Liquidators “1) have physical characteristics similar to "cleat" and "toothed nails" and do not have physical characteristics similar to "brad" nails, as defined in ASTM's 1667 and F547; 2) are not used in the same applications as "brad" nails; 3) are used in different applications than "brad" nails and thus the expectations of the ultimate purchaser of each differ; and 4) are advertised and displayed as "cleat" nails used in hardwood flooring and not as "brad" nails used in light-duty applications,” said Commerce. As such, they are not exempt as “brads” and are within the scope of the nails AD duty order, conclude the agency.
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