Border Brokerage Co. v. United States

24 Cust. Ct. 44, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1440
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJanuary 30, 1950
DocketC. D. 1205
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 24 Cust. Ct. 44 (Border Brokerage Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Customs Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Border Brokerage Co. v. United States, 24 Cust. Ct. 44, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1440 (cusc 1950).

Opinion

Mollison, Judge:

This protest is directed against the action of the collector of customs assessing duty at the rate of 25 cents per square under the Shingles Quota Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 708, 19 U. S. C. § 1332a) on two shipments of red cedar shingles imported from Canada on October 20 and 21, 1947. The protest claim is for free entry of the said shingles under the provision in paragraph 1760 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U. S. C. § 1201, par. 1760) for “Shingles of wood.”

The protest has been submitted for decision upon stipulation of counsel reading as follows:

(1) This protest relates to red-cedar shingles imported from Canada and entered for consumption at the subport of Blaine on October 20 and 21, 1947.
(2) The quantity of such imported shingles entered or withdrawn for consumption during the calendar year 1947was 1,941,427 squares, and of that quantity 1,169,379 squares were imported not later than August 15, 1947, the date when Proclamation 2708, October 25, 1946, 3 CFR 1946 supp., p. 74, TD 51565, was terminated by Proclamation 2735, 3 CFR 1947 supp., p. 50.
(3) The quantity of red-cedar shingles entitled to exemption from the duty of 25 cents per square imposed by the Shingles Quota Act of July 1, 1940, 54 Stat. 708, 19 USC 1332a, TD 50224, as ascertained by the Tariff Commission and reported to the Secretary of the Treasury for the calendar year 1947, was 1,380,300 squares, as set forth in TD 51658, and that quantity had been imported and entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption by 8 a. m. Pacific standard time, September 23, 1947.
(4) All red-cedar shingles imported during 1947 after the hour and day last stated above were directed by the Treasury Department to be subjected to duty at 25 cents per square under said quota act, and the shingles covered by this protest were accordingly assessed at that rate.

As originally enacted, the Tariff Act of 1930 in paragraph 1760 thereof provided free entry for wood shingles. By the terms of the Canadian Trade Agreement, reported in T. D. 49752, which became effective January 1, 1939, the duty-free status of wood shingles was continued, with a proviso, however, in the following language:

[46]*46Provided, That the United States reserves the right to impose a customs duty, not exceeding 25 cents per square, on any red cedar shingles which may be entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption in any calendar year after 1938 in excess of a quantity to be specified by the United States, which quantity shall not be less than 30 per centum of the annual average for the preceding three calendar years of the combined total of the quantity of red cedar shingles shipped by producers in the United States and of the quantity of such shingles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption (for the purposes of this agreement, such combined total for the calendar year 1936 shall be considered as 7,526,056 squares).

On July 1, 1940, the so-called “Shingles Quota Act of 1940,” supra, was enacted into law. Later codified as § 1332a of Title 19, U. S. Code, it reads as follows:

(a) The United States Tariff Commission is directed to conduct an investigation as soon as practicable after the close of the calendar year 1939 and each calendar year thereafter, for the purpose of ascertaining the quantities of red cedar shingles shipped by producers in the United States and the quantities of imported red cedar shingles entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, during each of the three calendar years immediately preceding any such investigation.
(b) If the Commission finds, on the basis of an investigation under subdivision (a) of this section, that in any calendar year after 1938 the quantity of imported red cedar shingles entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, was in excess of 30 per centum of the combined total for such year of the respective quantities ascertained in such investigation, it shall so report to the President. If the President approves the report of the Commission, he shall so proclaim, and on and after the day following the filing of such proclamation with the Division of the Federal Register and so long as any trade agreement entered into under the authority of section 1351 of this title, shall be in effect with respect to the importation into the United States of red cedar shingles, there shall be a duty upon imported red cedar shingles entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, in any calendar year in excess of 30 per centum of the annual average for the preceding three calendar years of the combined total of the quantity of such shingles shipped by producers in the United States and of the quantity of such imported shingles entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption. The rate of such duty shall be 25 cents per square. Any duty imposed under this section shall be treated for the purposes of all provisions of law relating to customs revenue as a duty imposed by section 1001 of this title, and shall not apply to shingles entered for consumption before the duty becomes applicable.
(c) The quantity of red cedar shingles entitled to exemption from any duty imposed pursuant to this section shall be ascertained for each quota period by the Commission and reported to the Secretary of the Treasury.

On August 26, 1940, the President of the United States issued a proclamation approving the report of the United States Tariff Commission on shipments and imports of red cedar shingles “to the end that the duty provided in the aforesaid act approved July 1, 1940, shall be imposed upon such imported red cedar shingles as are subject to duty under that act.” See 76 Treas. Dec. 76, T. D. 50224.

[47]*47Section 318 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U. S. C. § 1318), under the caption “Emergencies,” provides as follows:

Whenever the President shall by proclamation declare an emergency to exist by reason of a state of war, or otherwise, he may authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to extend during the continuance of such emergency the time herein prescribed for the performance of any act, and may authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to permit, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, the importation free of duty of food, clothing, and medical, surgical, and other supplies for use in emergency relief work. The Secretary of the Treasury shall report to the Congress any action taken under the provisions of this section.

The Veterans’ Emergency Housing Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 207, 50 U. S. C. App. § 1821-1833) recognized the existence of an emergency shortage of housing, and, acting under the authority of section 318, supra, the President of the United States on October 25, 1946, proclaimed as follows:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Border Brokerage Co. v. United States
40 C.C.P.A. 185 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1953)
Border Brokerage Co. v. United States
27 Cust. Ct. 223 (U.S. Customs Court, 1951)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
24 Cust. Ct. 44, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1440, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/border-brokerage-co-v-united-states-cusc-1950.