Elof Hansson, Inc. v. United States

55 Cust. Ct. 551, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2375
United States Customs Court·Decided July 12, 1965·No. Reap. Dec. 11041; Entry No. 823721·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

Rao, Chief Judge:

This is an appeal for reappraisement of an entry of hardboard, imported from Sweden. The specific question in the case is one involving the assessment of a dumping duty pursuant to the provisions of the Antidumping Act of 1921 (19 U.S.C. section [552]*552160, et seq.), the relevant portions of which read as follows at the time of importation:

§ 161. Amount of duty to be collected; determination of foreign market value of goods.
(a) In the case of all imported merchandise, whether dutiable or free of duty, of a class or kind as to which the Secretary of the Treasury has made public a finding as provided in section 160 of this title, and as to which the appraiser or person acting as appraiser has made no appraisement report to the collector before such finding has been so made public, if the purchase price or the exporter’s sales price is less than the foreign market value (or, in the absence of such value, than the cost of production) there shall be levied, collected, and paid, in addition to the duties imposed thereon by law, a special dumping duty in an amount equal to such difference.
(b) If it is established to the satisfaction of the appraising officers that the amount of such difference between the purchase price and the foreign market value is wholly or partly due to the fact that the wholesale quantities, in which such a [or] similar merchandise is sold or freely offered for sale to all purchasers for exportation to the United States in the ordinary course of trade, are greater than the wholesale quantities in which such or similar merchandise is sold or freely offered for sale to all purchasers in the principal markets of the country of exportation in the ordinary course of trade for home consumption (or, if not so sold or offered for sale for home consumption, then for exportation to countries other than the United States), then due allowance shall be made therefor in determining the foreign market value for the purposes of this section.
§ 164. Determination of foreign market value.
For the purposes of sections 160-171 of this title, the foreign-market value of imported merchandise shall be the price, at the time of exportation of such merchandise to the United States, at which such or similar mez-ehandise is sold or freely offered for sale to all purchasers in the principal markets of the country from which exported, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade for home consumption (or, if not so sold or offered for sale for home consumption, then for exportation to countries other than the United States), plus, when not included in such price, the cost of all containers and coverings and all other costs, charges, and expenses incident to placing the merchandise in condition packed ready for shipment to the United States, except that in the case of merchandise purchased or agreed to be purchased by the person by whom or for whose account the merchandise is imported, prior to the time of exportation, the foreign-market value shall be ascertained as of the date of such purchase or agreement to purchase. In the ascertainment of foreign-market value for the purposes of said sections no pretended sale or offer for sale, and no sale or offer for sale intended to establish a fictitious market, shall be taken into account. (May 27, 1921, ch. 14, § 205, 42 Stat. 13; June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title IV, § 651(d), 46 Stat. 762.)

By stipulation of the parties entered into during the course of trial, the issue presented for determination in this action has been limited to the appraiser’s finding of a foreign market value, within the purview of section 164, supra, of $22.98 per 1,000 square feet. The 'agreement, between the litigants herein embodies the following terms:

[553]*5531. That the subject merchandise consists of hardboard, exported from Sweden, as to which the Secretary of the Treasury issued a finding of dumping, which was published in 89 Treas. Dec. 197, T.D. 53567, made pursuant to tire Antidumping Act of 1921 (19 U.S.C. § 160, et seq.).

2. That, pursuant to section 168 of the said Antidumping Act, the appraiser reported the purchase price (§ 162) of the merchandise covered by this appeal for reappraisement at $19.50 per 1,000 square feet, and the purchase price as thus reported is not disputed.

3. That, pursuant to section 168 of the said Antidumping Act, the appraiser also reported the foreign market value (§ 161) as to the merchandise covered by this appeal for reappraisement at $22.98 per 1,000 square feet.

4. That, pursuant to sections 500 and 402 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Administrative Act of 1938, the appraiser appraised all of the merchandise involved in this appeal for regular duty purposes, and the appraiser’s finding of such value under said section 402 is not challenged.

5. That the instant appeal for reappraisement relates to the foreign market value, referred to in paragraph 3, supra.

It was further agreed that the official papers in the instant case be received in evidence without the necessity of being marked as an exhibit.

The record otherwise consists of the testimony of Mr. Thomas E. Hill, assistant to the manager of the hardboard department of plaintiff corporation; correspondence between plaintiff and the manufacturer-exporter of the instant merchandise (plaintiff’s exhibits 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7); a contract, dated March 20,1954, for the purchase of a quantity or hardboard of various thicknesses (plaintiff’s exhibit 5); two affidavits of Mr. Bengt Johansson, the assistant sales manager of the wallboard department of the manufacturer-exporter (plaintiff’s exhibits 8 and 9); and an affidavit of Mr. Gunnar Jarryd, the assistant to the manager of the purchasing department of a Swedish purchaser of hardboard. All of the foregoing were introduced on the part of the plaintiff. No evidence was adduced by defendant.

It appears from the record as thus made that during February and March 1954, plaintiff conducted negotiations with the Swedish firm of Katrinefors Aktiebolag, hereinafter referred to as the “exporter” for the purchase of an exceptionally large quantity, to wit, upwards of 4 million square feet of hardboard, y8" in thickness, size 4 by 8. This quantity was characterized by the witness as an “unusual large quantity,” as contrasted with an ordinary order from any one of several suppliers in Sweden of a carload of 32,000 feet or 52,000 feet.

In consideration of the size of the order and a readiness to accept up to 25 percent of so-called “falling seconds,” plaintiff proposed a [554]*554price equal to $25 per 1,000 square feet, net, C & F, New York. This price resulted from the deduction of two discounts claimed by plaintiff under the circumstance that “We understand that for large purchases Swedish manufacturers of hardboard are granting not only a 10% wholesale carload discount, but also a 10% special quantity discount to which we definitely feel that we are entitled on a contract of this magnitude.” (Plaintiff’s exhibit 1.)

The exporter first countered plaintiff’s request with an offer to sell about 4,000,000 square feet of Ys"

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Elof Hansson, Inc. v. United States, 55 Cust. Ct. 551, 1965 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2375 (cusc 1965).

55 Cust. Ct. 551 (Elof Hansson, Inc. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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