Imbert Imports, Inc. v. United States

65 Cust. Ct. 697, 314 F. Supp. 784, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3090
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJuly 23, 1970
DocketR.D. 11718; Entry Nos. 8033, etc.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 65 Cust. Ct. 697 (Imbert Imports, Inc. 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
Imbert Imports, Inc. v. United States, 65 Cust. Ct. 697, 314 F. Supp. 784, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3090 (cusc 1970).

Opinion

Watson, Judge:

These appeals for reappraisement are before this court for decision after an interesting career during the course of which they were dismissed by the trial judge for failure to prosecute and then restored to the calendar by the Second Division in Appellate Term. Imbert Imports, Inc. v. United States, 58 Cust. Ct. 848, A.R.D. 224 (1967).

These appeals place in issue the assessment of a special dumping duty pursuant to section 201(a) of the Antidumping Act of 1921, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 160(a) (1958)), and the correctness of the finding of the Tariff Commission that an industry in the United States was likely to be injured by reason of the importation of such merchandise. Section 201 of the Antidumping Act of 1921, provides as follows:

(a) Whenever the Secrefcaiy of the Treasury (hereinafter called the “Secretary”) determines that a class or kind of foreign merchandise is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States or elsewhere at less than its fair value, he shall so advise the United States Tariff Commission, and the said Commission shall determine within three months thereafter whether an industry in the United States is being or is likely to be injured, or is prevented from being established, by reason of the importation of such merchandise into the United States. The said Commission, after such investigation as it deems necessary, shall notify the Secretary of its determination, and, if that determination is in the affirmative, the Secretary shall make public a notice (hereinafter [699]*699in sections 160-173 of this title called a “finding”) of his determination and the determination of the said Commission. For the purposes of this subsection, the said Commission shall be deemed to have made an affirmative determination if the Commissioners of said Commission voting are evenly divided as to whether its determination should be m the affirmative or in the negative. The Secretary’s finding shall include a description of the class or kind of merchandise to which it applies in such detail as he shall deem necessary for the guidance of customs officers.
:(b) Whenever, in the case of any imported merchandise of a class or kind as to which the Secretary has not so made public a finding, the Secretary had reason to believe or suspect, froam the invoice or other papers or from information presented to him or to any person to whom authority under this section has been delegated, that the purchase price is less, or that the exporter’s sales price is less or likely to be less, than the foreign market value (or, in the absence of such value, than the constructed value), he shall forthwith publish notice of that fact in the Federal Register and shall authorize, under such regulations as he may prescribe, the withholding of appraisement reports as to such merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, not more than one hundred and twenty days before the question of dumping has been raised by or presented to him or any person to whom authority under this section has been delegated, until the further order of the Secretary, or until the Secretary has made public a finding as provided for in subdivision (a) in regard to such merchandise.
(c) The Secretary, upon determining whether foreign merchandise is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than its fair value, and upon making its determination under subsection (a) of this section, shall each publish such determination in the Federal Register, with a statement of the reasons therefor, whether such determination is in the affirmative or in the negative.

The record herein is entirely documentary, consisting of the papers filed in the Tariff Commission proceeding and the Tariff Commission’s determination of likelihood of injury. TC Publication 87, April 19,1963.

The importations in question consist of Portland gray cement exported from the Dominican Republic during the period of October 25, 1962 to March 25, 1963 and entered at the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Prior to these exportations the Secretary of the Treasury had ordered that appraisements of entries of Portland gray cement from the Dominican Republic were to be withheld. On January 16, 1963, the Secretary of the Treasury made a determination that such cement was being, or was likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value within the meaning of section 201 (a) of the Antidumping Act of 1921. The Tariff Commission then instituted an investigation [700]*700and determined on April 19, 1963 that an industry in the United States was likely to be injured by reason of such importation at less than fair value. These importations were, accordingly, assessed with dumping duty.

Plaintiffs object to the Tariff Commission’s finding that the likelihood of injury existed and claim that said finding is arbitrary and not based on substantial evidence. Plaintiffs also claim that the punishment, so to speak, does not fit the “crime” since the likelihood of injury, if there was any, was to industry in the New York area, while the assessment of dumping duties affects importations into Puerto Eico, whose industry was not found likely to be injured.

Central to the disposition of this case is the scope of this court’s review of the validity of the actions of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Tariff Commission. Plaintiffs contend that the scope of this review should be that provided for in the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 1001, as specifically set forth in section 1009 (e).

Scope of review.

So far as necessary to decision and where presented the reviewing court shall decide all relevant questions of law, interpret constitutional and statutory provisions, and determine the meaning or applicability of the terms of any agency action. It shall (A) compel agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed; and (B) hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions found to be (1) arbitrary, capricious, and abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law; (2) contrary to constitutional right, power, privilege, or immunity; (3) in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right; (4) without observance of procedure required by law; (5) unsupported by substantial evidence in any case subject to the requirements of sections 1006 and 1007 of this title or otherwise reviewed on the record of an agency hearing provided by statute; or (6) unwarranted by the facts to the extent that the facts are subject to trial de novo by the reviewing court. In making the foregoing determinations the court shall review the whole record or such portions thereof as may be cited by any party, and due account shall be taken of the rule of prejudicial error.

I am of the opinion that although plaintiffs are entitled to a measure of review of the acts of the Tariff Commission, it is not as broad as that outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act for the reason that said act does not apply to the proceedings in question. T. M. Duche & Sons v. United States, 39 CCPA 186, C.A.D. 485 (1952).

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Related

Imbert Imports, Inc. v. United States
475 F.2d 1189 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1973)
Suwannee Steamship Company v. United States
354 F. Supp. 1361 (U.S. Customs Court, 1973)
American Express Co. v. United States
472 F.2d 1050 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1973)
Suwannee Steamship Co. v. United States
70 Cust. Ct. 327 (U.S. Customs Court, 1973)
Imbert Imports, Inc. v. United States
331 F. Supp. 1400 (U.S. Customs Court, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
65 Cust. Ct. 697, 314 F. Supp. 784, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3090, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/imbert-imports-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1970.