Forte, Dupee, Sawyer Co. v. United States

56 Cust. Ct. 236, 269 F. Supp. 366, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2003
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedMarch 21, 1966
DocketC.D. 2631
StatusPublished

This text of 56 Cust. Ct. 236 (Forte, Dupee, Sawyer 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
Forte, Dupee, Sawyer Co. v. United States, 56 Cust. Ct. 236, 269 F. Supp. 366, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2003 (cusc 1966).

Opinion

WilsoN, Judge:

The merchandise covered by this protest is cashmere goat fibers. The imported material was classified under the provisions of paragraph 1105(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 51802, as noils, uncarbonized, and assessed with duty at the rate of 12 cents per pound. The plaintiff contends that the imported product is properly classifiable under the provisions of paragraph 1106 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by T.D. 51802 and T.D. 52739, at the rate of 27% cents per pound and 6% per centum ad valorem, as hair of the Cashmere goat advanced beyond the washed or scoured condition and not further advanced than roving. The statutes involved read as follows:

Paragraph 1105 (a) and (b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 before modification by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 51802:
Par. 1105. (a) Top waste, slubbing waste, roving waste, and ring waste, 37 cents per pound; garnetted waste, 26 cents per pound; noils, carbonized, 30 cents per pound; noils, not carbonized, 23 cents per pound; thread or yarn waste, 25 cents per pound; card or burr waste, carbonized, 23 cents per pound; not carbonized, 16 cents per pound; all other wool wastes not specially provided for, 24 cents per pound; shoddy, and wool extract, 24 cents per pound; mungo, 10 cents per pound; wool rags, 18 cents per pound; flocks, 8 cents per pound.
(b) Wastes of the hair of the Angora goat, Cashmere goat, alpaca, and other like animals, shall be dutiable at the rates provided for similar types of wool wastes.

Paragraph 1105 (a) and (b) of the act, as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 51802:

Wool and hair wastes:

Top waste, slubbing waste, roving waste, and ring waste-280 per lb.

Garnetted waste_14%0perlb.

Noils, carbonized_J_170 per lb.

Noils, not carbonized_120 per lb.

Thread or yarn waste_11%0 per lb.

Card or burr waste, carbonized_141/20 per lb.

Card or burr waste, not carbonized_10%0 per lb.

Wool wastes not specially provided for_10%0 per lb.

Shoddy, and wool extract_140 per lb.

Mungo- 90 per lb.

Wool rags- 90 per lb.

Flocks - 3%0 per lb.

[238]*238Paragraph 1105 (a) and (b) of the act, as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 52739:

Wool and hair wastes :

Garnetted waste_12%0 per lb.

Noils, carbonized_160 per lb.

Thread or yarn waste_100 per lb.

Card or burr waste, not carbonized- 90 per lb.

Wool wastes not specially provided for- 90 per lb.

Paragraph 1106 as originally enacted, Tariff Act, of 1930, as it relates to paragraph 1105:

Par. 1106. Wool, and hair of the kinds provided for in this schedule, if carbonized, or advanced in any manner or by any process of manufacture beyond the washed or scoured condition, including tops, but not further advanced than roving, 37 cents per pound and 20 per centum ad valorem.

Paragraph 1106 of the act, as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 51802:

Wool, and hair of the kinds provided for in Schedule 11, Tariff Act of 1930, if carbonized, or advanced in any manner or by any process of manufacture beyond the washed or scoured condition, including tops, but not further advanced than roving:

Carbonized only_27%0 per lb. and 6%% ad val.

Other_27%0 per lb. and 12%% ad val.

Paragraph 1106 of the act, as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, T.D. 52739:

Wool, and hair of the kinds provided for in schedule 11, Tariff Act of 1930, if carbonized, or advanced in any manner or by any process of manufacture beyond the washed or scoured condition, including tops, but not further advanced than roving:

Other than carbonized only_27%0 per lb. and 6%% ad val.
Note : The specific parts of the foregoing rate and of the rates in items 1107, 1109(a), 1109(b), 1111, 1114(d), and 1119 in this Part shall be subject to the note in item 1102(b) in Part I of Schedule XX (original).

The preliminary inquiry as to plaintiff’s legal eligibility to appear in this action requires but brief consideration.

Plaintiff’s collective exhibit 1 consists of a number of documents which the plaintiff claims are sufficient to establish its right under section 516(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 to appear in this case and protest the classification. The sufficiency of the proof contained in said exhibit to establish the American manufacturer’s right to appear herein has not been challenged by the Government or the party in interest in the record or in the briefs filed in this case. In the opinion [239]*239of the court, the plaintiff-manufacturer has satisfactorily shown that it has met the prerequisite conditions of section 516(b) of the tariff act, sufra, applicable to this case, and that said manufacturer is entitled to be heard as the plaintiff in this proceeding.

It also appears from the great preponderance of the evidence in this case that the plaintiff is a manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler of merchandise of the class or kind of the imported cashmere goat hair here involved.

The only issue in this case then is whether the imported material is properly dutiable under paragraph 1105(a) of the tariff act, as modified, supra, at the applicable rate as “Noils, not carbonized,” as classified, or whether the importations should be assessed for duty under paragraph 1106 of the act, as modified, supra, at the rate of 27% cents per pound, plus 61/4 per centum ad valorem, as “hair * * * advanced * * * beyond the washed or scoured condition * * * but not further advanced than roving,” as claimed.

The plaintiff introduced in evidence 12 exhibits and the defendant 3. Plaintiff’s collective exhibit 1 has already been considered. Plaintiff’s exhibits 2 and 3 are admittedly representative of the imported cashmere hair; exhibits 4 and 5 consist of samples withdrawn from exhibits 2 and 3, which were subjected to laboratory tests; illustrative exhibits 6 and 1 were shown to be illustrative of cashmere goat fleeces in the grease as removed from the live animals; illustrative exhibits 8 and 9 represent dehaired cashmere goat fibers produced by the American manufacturer; illustrative exhibits 10 and 11 are admittedly cashmere noils; and plaintiff’s collective exhibit 12 consists of photographs of fiber length diagrams of plaintiff’s exhibits 2, 3, 4, and 5, and of plaintiff’s illustrative exhibits 10 and 11 (E. 194). Defendant’s collective exhibit A consists of certain letters exchanged between the plaintiff-manufacturer and one, J. J. O’Donnell, the importer of the involved merchandise; defendant’s collective exhibit C consists of a sample of cashmere top allegedly produced by J. F. Mueller, Inc., the exporter of the involved merchandise; and illustrative exhibits D and E are claimed to be illustrations of cashmere tops.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
56 Cust. Ct. 236, 269 F. Supp. 366, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2003, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/forte-dupee-sawyer-co-v-united-states-cusc-1966.