WASHINGTON—President George W. Bush on April 2 signed a proclamation that effectively lifted the tariff on horizontal bamboo flooring and restored it to duty-free status.

The proclamation included a revision to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). It specifies duty-free treatment and new tariff classification numbers for imported bamboo flooring products. Once these changes become fully effective, companies will once again be able to import bamboo flooring products without paying duties at the U.S. border. The document is available at edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/08-1091.pdf.

Chris Davis, president and CEO of the World Floor Covering Association ( WFCA), said its Washington– based legislative counsel, Steptoe & Johnson, has been monitoring the situation since February 2007, when duties were imposed on all imported bamboo. The change, he added, came after lengthy regulatory work and appeals, led by WFCA, to repealing an onerous and costly tariff. Steps are also under way to reinstate duty-free treatment on vertical bamboo flooring. “This is exactly the type of aggressive representation the flooring industry can expect from the WFCA,” he said.

Along with the WFCA, Davis said several importers of bamboo helped get the tariff repealed by providing input and technical assistance to the organization’s legal team, including executives of U.S. Floors and Wellmade.

To facilitate the process for members, WFCA attorneys have suggested that bamboo manufacturers may wish to temporarily suspend imports until their customs brokers advise the U.S. Customs computer system has been updated. Companies that have been affected will be able to obtain a refund of the duties on past shipments made since Feb. 3, 2007, once the tariff revisions are fully implemented. There are two way this can be done:

• Request an extension of liquidation to allow Customs to liquidate the entries later without duties, or

• Filing a Customs protest after the entries have liquidated with duties.

It’s recommended that importers collect a list of their bamboo flooring entries made since February 2007 on duties paid.

“Timing will be very important for affected companies because protests must be filed within 180 days of the liquidation date,” stressed WFCA attorneys. Any entry not covered by a protest filed at the port of entry and received at that port within 180 days of the liquidation date for that entry may lose opportunity for refund.

“This time the issue was bamboo, but it could easily have been some other flooring material,” Davis concluded. “The tariff was inappropriately applied and it impacted the entire distribution chain. Fortunately, WFCA has the financial resources, mandate and talent to take on these types of issues.”

For more information or assistance on the tariff repeal, call Greg McCue at Steptoe & Johnson at 202.429.6421.