General Wool Co. v. United States

56 Cust. Ct. 730, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1910
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJune 1, 1966
DocketR.D. 11177; Entry No. 10113, etc.
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 56 Cust. Ct. 730 (General Wool 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
General Wool Co. v. United States, 56 Cust. Ct. 730, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1910 (cusc 1966).

Opinion

Wilson, Senior Judge:

The above 23 appeals for reappraisement concern certain importations, invoiced as handmade woolen rag carpets and referred to by counsel as wool rag rugs,1 which were exported from Japan between April 27,1950, and April 18,1952.

The following schedule shows the invoiced and appraised values for the three separate periods of exportation here involved:

Export period Invoiced value Appraised value

April 27,1950, to September 29,1950 $0,143,4 $0.33

November 16,1950, to January 6,1951 $0.14% $0.35

May 6,1951, to April 18,1952 $0.243/s $0,395

All prices are per square foot, net packed.

[732]*732In some appeals, tlie importer deducted and added certain inland charges under duress, or added certain processing charges to make entered values. Neither of these procedures is contested, and will, therefore, be disregarded herein. In reappraisement number 247696-A, an item of woolen hooked rugs was entered at $0.39 per square foot and appraised at $0.45 per square foot. The importer makes no claim as to this item, and the appraised value, presumptively correct, must be affirmed.

Appraisement of all items in issue was made on the basis of export value, as defined in section 402(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Customs Administrative Act of 1938, T.D. 49646.

The importers claim that there is no foreign value, export value, or United States value for the merchandise at bar. Cost of production, as defined in section 402(f) of said amended act, is claimed to be the proper basis for appraisement, and it is contended that the invoiced prices represent the correct cost of production values.

Counsel stipulated that there was no statutory foreign value for such or similar merchandise, which stipulation is binding upon the court. Salomon & Co. v. United States, 7 Ct. Cust. Appls. 5, T.D. 36255; American Bead Co. v. United States, 7 Ct. Cust. Appls. 161, T.D. 36465. But plaintiffs have the burden to establish that there is no export value or United States value applicable, and must also establish their alleged cost of production. United States v. T. D. Downing Co. (George H. Sweetnam, Inc.), 20 CCPA 251, T.D. 46057; United States v. Gane and Ingram, Inc., 24 CCPA 1, T.D. 48264; Brooks Paper Company v. United States, 40 CCPA 38, C.A.D. 495; Kobe Import Co. v. United States, 42 CCPA 194, C.A.D. 593; Frank P. Dow Co., Inc. v. United States, 32 Cust Ct. 547, 550, Reap. Dec. 8276; Joseph G. Maddox, as Trustee, etc. v. United States, 35 Cust. Ct. 412, 416, Reap. Dec. 8484; Hoenig Plywood Corp. and Williams, Clarke Co. v. United States, 41 Cust. Ct. 607, 609, A.R.D. 91.

Plaintiffs’ only evidence consists of the oral testimony of David Flitterman and an affidavit by Harry Flitterman, exhibit 1, to which 11 subexhibits are attached.

David Flitterman testified, in substance, that during the period from 1950 to 1952 he served as president and as vice president of plaintiffs, which were two different companies. General Wool Co., Inc., of El Monte, Calif., was in the business of purchasing wool waste rag material2 in the United States for export to J apan and imp or t[733]*733ing the wool rag rugs made therefrom, while the business of United Importing Co. was similar, not exporting rags frequently, but importing merchandise manufactured from rags regularly. His duties with these companies were to purchase wool rag materials in the United States, and to select, pack, and ship them to Japan. He also supervised the importation of rugs made therefrom. Mr. Flitterman further testified that he had been engaged in the wool rag or wool waste business all his life up to, but not after, 1952. The witness also stated that he purchased in the United States used clothing called mixed wool bodies, basically coats, pants, and other wool items of clothing of all colors, including dark colors, that were no longer used in that form. He said he was familiar with the disposition of the imported rugs from Japan which had been processed there from the rags he had purchased in the United States and shipped to Japan. In handling this merchandise his duties included supervision of sales and distribution, as well as direct dealing in the finished imported rugs. The rugs were distributed on a very selective basis to dealers in the United States. It was necessary to choose dealers who could handle sales promotion of the item and who understood the decor of this particular type of manufacture. The witness stated that he gave extra emphasis to the rugs so as to introduce them to the American public. The rugs were not freely offered for sale at wholesale to anyone who wanted to purchase them, according to Mr. Flitterman. He further stated that the rugs consisted of strips of rags interwoven with strips of string and bound on each end; that they were just plain rag rugs and merchandising was very important. He believed that the selected purchasers were restricted as to the price at which they could resell.

The affidavit of Harry Flitterman, plaintiffs’ exhibit 1, consists of 10 pages of single-spaced typing, together with 11 subexhibits, attached thereto, marked therein as plaintiffs’ exhibits 1 through 11. To avoid confusion, these 11 exhibits will be referred to herein as subexhibits 1, 2, 3, etc. Reference will be made to those portions of the affidavit and of the subexhibits as deemed necessary. The affiant Harry Flitterman will be referred to hereinafter without using his first name.

Mr. Flitterman alleges that he has been in the wool business since 1943 in association with his father in Wales, and in said business in the United States since 1948. At the time of execution of the affidavit at Los Angeles, Calif., on January 27, 1964, he was still buying wool rag materials in the United States. He testified he was familiar with the cost of rags from 1948 to 1964. The witness said he designed wool rugs to be made from the rags purchased. By reason of his activities in the field since 1948, he showed great familiarity with the charac[734]*734ter of wool rag material available in the United States and the cost thereof.

Mr. Flitterman in his affidavit sets forth his experience in the rag and wool business in the United States and J apan over a long period of years in great detail. He alleges that certain contracts were entered into between American and Japanese companies relating to the procurement of rags in the United States, their shipment to J apan for processing, and the exportation of the rugs made from the rag material from Japan to the United States. Evidently some of the original contracting parties were unable to meet their obligations under the agreements and from time to time new contracts were made with the approval of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan (SCAP) and the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). The essence of these contracts and their performance was that rag materials were to be purchased in the United States and shipped to Japan for processing into rugs, which products were to be exported to the United States for sale. According to Mr.

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

Related

Norco Sales Co. v. United States
65 Cust. Ct. 778 (U.S. Customs Court, 1970)
Inter-Maritime Forwarding Co. v. United States
65 Cust. Ct. 814 (U.S. Customs Court, 1970)
Cohn Hall Marx Co. v. United States
64 Cust. Ct. 107 (U.S. Customs Court, 1970)
Standard Brands Paint Co. v. United States
62 Cust. Ct. 808 (U.S. Customs Court, 1969)
Jaime Imports, Inc. v. United States
62 Cust. Ct. 798 (U.S. Customs Court, 1969)
General Wool Co. v. United States
60 Cust. Ct. 970 (U.S. Customs Court, 1968)
Millmaster International, Inc. v. United States
58 Cust. Ct. 711 (U.S. Customs Court, 1967)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
56 Cust. Ct. 730, 1966 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1910, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/general-wool-co-v-united-states-cusc-1966.