Greene Cattle Co. v. United States

20 Cust. Ct. 9, 1947 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1408
United States Customs Court·Decided December 22, 1947·No. C. D. 1076·Published

Opinion

Cline, Judge:

This is a protest arising at the port of San Francisco against the collector’s assessment of duty under paragraph 701 of the Tariff Act of 1930 at the rate of 3 cents per pound on certain cattle weighing over 700 pounds which were imported from Mexico and withdrawn from bonded pasture during April 1942. Plaintiff claims that the cattle are properly dutiable at 1){ cents per pound under said paragraph, as modified by the trade agreement with Canada, T. D. 49752.

[10]*10At tbe trial, James D. Stewart, the liquidator herein, testified that the merchandise originally entered consisted of' 498 cows weighing over 700 pounds each, 29 steer calves under 700 pounds each, 97 heifer calves under 700 pounds each, and 2 horses; that after importation, 9 cows were destroyed and the balance of the 498 were liquidated dutiable; that the cows were kept in a bonded pasture until the time' of withdrawal; that they were withdrawn on April 1, 1942; that 192 weighing over 700 pounds each were liquidated at 1K cents per pound under the Mexican quota, under T. D. 49752 and T. D. 50534,. and that 297 cows were liquidated at 3 cents per pound. Mr. Stewart, stated that his liquidation was based upon instructions received in a. letter from the Bureau of Customs. A copy of this letter is among; the papers attached to the entry and states in part:

Quota reports before the Bureau show that entries for consumption and warehouse withdrawals for consumption covering 21,132 head of this class of cattle-were accepted simultaneously as of 12 Noon, Eastern War Time, at the opening, of the quarterly quota period on April 1, 1942.
The quota of 8,280 head for the second quarter of 1942 represents 39.1823-percent of these total imports. Therefore, of the 489 head of this class of cattle-under San Francisco warehouse withdrawal No. 4657 recorded on your quota, report for the week ended April 4, 1942, as accepted at 9:00 A. M., Pacific War Time, on April 1, 192 head are dutiable afijé cents per pound under item 701, schedule II of the trade agreement with Canada (T. Ds. 49752, 50534), and 297’ head at 3 cents per pound under paragraph 701 of the Tariff Act of 1930. You. will please be governed accordingly.
4e ‡ % # * ‡ ‡
All other entries for consumption and warehouse withdrawals for consumption, covering this class of cattle, the produce of countries other than Canada, accepted during the second quarter of the calendar year 1942, will be dutiable at the full, tariff rate of 3 cents per pound.

There was received into evidence as plaintiff’s collective exhibit 1' a certified copy of a statement of the Foreign Trade Division of the-Bureau of the Census showing imports of cattle weighing 700 pounds- or more each during 1942. According to that tabulation, 3,551 head of cattle from Mexico were entered into warehouses during April,, none from Canada or other countries, and 18,357 head from Mexico-were withdrawn from warehouses during April, one from Canada and' none from other countries. For the entire second quarter, 7,676' head from Mexico were entered into warehouses, none from Canada or other countries, and 18,729 head from Mexico were withdrawn-from warehouses, one from Canada and none from other countries..

Plaintiff claims that its entire shipment was. entitled to entry at the reduced rate on the ground that the so-called Reciprocal Trade-Agreements Act did not authorize the President to allocate quotas-among different countries and that the President’s proclamation off [11]*11tlie quotas for 1942 (T. D. 50534) was null and void insofar as it discriminated against other countries in favor of Canada.

The pertinent statute, trade agreement, and proclamation are as follows:

Sec. 350 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as added by 48 Stat. 943, 19 U. S. C. §1351 (the so-called Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act), extended by Joint Resolutions of Congress approved March 1, 1937 (50 Stat. 24) and April 12, 1940 (54 Stat. 107):

Sec. 350. (a) For the purpose of expanding foreign markets for the products of the United States (as a means of assisting in the present emergency in restoring the American standard of living, in overcoming domestic unemployment and the present economic depression, in increasing the purchasing power of the American public, and in establishing and maintaining a better relationship among various branches of American agriculture, industry, mining, and commerce) by regulating the admission of foreign goods into the United States in accordance with the characteristics and needs of various branches of American production so that foreign markets will be made available to those branches of American production which require and are capable of developing such outlets by affording corresponding market opportunities for foreign products in the United States, the President, whenever he finds as a fact that any existing duties or other import restrictions of the United States or any foreign country are unduly burdening and restricting the foreign trade of the United States and that the purpose above declared will be promoted by the means hereinafter specified, is authorized from time to time—
(1) To enter, into foreign trade agreements with foreign governments or instrumentalities thereof; and
(2) To proclaim such modifications of existing duties and other import restrictions, or such additional import restrictions, or such continuance, and for such minimum periods, of existing customs or excise treatment of any article covered by foreign trade agreements, as are required or appropriate to carry out any foreign trade agreement that the President has entered into hereunder. No proclamation shall be made increasing or decreasing by more than 50 per centum any existing rate of duty or transferring any article between the dutiable and free lists. The proclaimed duties and other import restrictions shall apply to articles the growth, produce, or manufacture of all foreign countries, whether imported directly, or indirectly: Provided, That the President may suspend the application to articles the growth, produce, or manufacture of any country because of its discriminatory treatment of American commerce or because of other acts or policies which in his opinion tend to defeat the purposes set forth in this section; .and the proclaimed duties and other import restrictions shall be in effect from and after such time as is specified in the proclamation. The President may at any time terminate any such proclamation in whole or in part.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the application, with respect to rates of duty established under this section pursuant to agreements with countries other than Cuba, of the provisions of the treaty of commercial reciprocity concluded between the United States and the Republic of Cuba on December 11, 1902, or to preclude giving effect to an exclusive agreement with Cuba concluded under this section, modifying the existing preferential customs treatment of any article the growth, produce, or manufacture of Cuba: Provided, That the duties payable on such an article shall in no case be increased or decreased by more than 50 per centum of the duties now payable thereon.
[12]

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Greene Cattle Co. v. United States, 20 Cust. Ct. 9, 1947 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1408 (cusc 1947).

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