Air Fryers Are Not Ovens, Importer Tells CIT in Customs Tiff

Air fryers are not ovens, and should not be classified as such, air fryer importer Tristar Products argued in its Oct. 20 complaint at the Court of International Trade. Kicking off its classification battle at CIT, Tristar argued that the air fryers don't belong under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading for ovens and should be spared the 25% Section 301 China tariffs levied on ovens (Tristar Products, Inc. v. United States, CIT #21-00563).

The proper home for the air fryers is subheading 8516.79.0000, which provides for "other electrothermics appliances," dutiable at 2.9%, Tristar said, citing General Rule of Interpretation 1. Attempting to draw a distinction between the air fryers and ovens, which would be assessed under secondary subheading 9903.88.03, Tristar discussed the air fryers' use of "Rapid Air" technology.

Rapid Air tech -- the name given to the Radiant Up-Stream Heating (RUSH) technology -- was developed for air frying food preparation, the complaint said. The technology utilizes an air velocity of around 5 to 6 mph, allowing for the "active" cooking of food, as opposed to an oven, which conducts "passive" cooking with an air velocity of around 1 mph. Air fryers, unlike ovens, also have two circulating air flows, Tristar said.