Inter Continental Equipment Co. v. United States

42 Cust. Ct. 223
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedJune 4, 1959
DocketC.D. 2090
StatusPublished

This text of 42 Cust. Ct. 223 (Inter Continental Equipment 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
Inter Continental Equipment Co. v. United States, 42 Cust. Ct. 223 (cusc 1959).

Opinion

Lawrence, Judge:

An importation of merchandise described on the consular invoice as “anchorages” was classified by the collector of customs as articles in chief value of steel, and duty was imposed thereon at the rate of 22% per centum ad valorem pursuant to the provision in paragraph 397 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1001, par. 397), as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 82 Treas. Dec. 305, T.D. 51802.

The so-called “anchorages” are used exclusively in the construction industry for prestressing concrete members, and it is the claim of plaintiffs that the articles are more specifically provided for as structural shapes in paragraph 312 of said act (19 U.S.C. § 1001, par. 312), as modified by the Torquay Protocol of said General Agreement, 86 Treas. Dec. 121, T.D. 52739, and dutiable at the rate of 7% per centum ad valorem.

Samples representing the merchandise were received in evidence as exhibit 1 and illustrative exhibit 2. As illustrative exhibits 3 and 4, there were received in evidence illustrations of the use to which the imported merchandise was applied.

The pertinent text of the competing statutes is here set forth:

Paragraph 397, as modified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, sufra:

Articles or wares not specially provided for, whether partly or wholly manufactured:
* ***** *
[225]*225Composed wholly or in chief value of iron, steel, lead, copper, brass, nickel, pewter, zinc, aluminum, or other metal (not including platinum, gold, or silver), but not plated with platinum, gold, or silver, or colored with gold lacquer:
**$$$*$
Other (except slide fasteners and parts thereof)_ 22%% ad val.

Paragraph. 312, as modified, by the Torquay protocol of said general agreement, sufra:

Beams, girders, joists, angles, channels, car-truck channels, tees, columns and posts, or parts or sections of columns and posts, and deck and bulb beams, together with all other structural shapes of iron or steel:
* * * ❖ * * *
Machined, drilled, punched, assembled, fitted, fabricated for use, or otherwise advanced beyond hammering, rolling, or casting- 7%% ad val.

Two witnesses were called, both of whom testified on behalf of the plaintiffs.

The first witness, Hans Landolt, testified substantially as follows: He is treasurer and manager of Inter Continental Equipment Co. and identified exhibit 1 as representing the merchandise, invoiced as “1,000 anchorages 12/5 complete,” and illustrative exhibit 2 as the same type of merchandise but larger in size. After importation, the merchandise is sold to general contractors and civil engineering firms who are engaged in construction work.

Plaintiffs’ second witness, Eugene Smith, testified that he was employed as chief field engineer for the Freyssinet Co., a consulting engineering firm engaged in the design, construction, and supervision of prestressed concrete structures. The anchorages represented by exhibits 1 and 2 are also referred to as cones consisting of two sections. The larger of the two is the female section which is made by placing two coiled steel pieces in a mold and casting concrete around them. The smaller section, referred to as the male section, consists of a steel tube with wire mesh having concrete cast about it.

The merchandise in controversy is used in the construction industry for the purpose of introducing compression into concrete members, the members being strengthened by the compression created by the cones. They are in general use in the construction of dams, bridges, buildings, and other concrete structures, being employed exclusively in the construction industry.

The witness, Smith, described the method of using the cones in the construction of a bridge substantially as follows: When the forms for a bridge are put into position, a rubber hose is placed lengthwise [226]*226in the center of the forms. Concrete for the bridge is then poured into the forms, the rubber hose providing a longitudinal hole which runs throughout the length of the bridge through the concrete member. A special high-tension wire cable is introduced through the hole made by the rubber hose and passes through the female section of cones, such as exhibits 1 and 2, which are fastened to the ends of the concrete member. Hydraulic pressure is applied to the cable so that it is placed in tension. The male sections of the cones are driven into the female sections and act as wedges which hold the cable under tension. The function of the cones is to retain that stress and transmit compression to both ends of the concrete member. The same basic principle is applied in the use of cones in the construction of a building. The force exerted on a cone the size of exhibit 2 may be as much as 65 or 70 tons, while on exhibit 1 there would be about 35 tons. It appears that concrete members do not have the capacity to resist tensile stresses. In other words, any force tends to pull the concrete apart. By prestressing the concrete with the use of cones, the concrete member is placed under a compressive force which enables it to resist the subsequent effect upon the concrete when it is subjected to tension. It is the cones which put the concrete in compression.

It appears further from Smith’s testimony that, after the cones are placed in position and the cables placed under tension, the cones are covered with concrete and the cables which extend through the cones are cut off. The cones then become a permanent part of the structure and cannot be removed without destroying the stability of the structure.

He testified also that exhibits 1 and 2, representing the imported merchandise, are ready for use in their imported condition. Exhibit 1 weighs approximately 6 pounds and is 4 inches in diameter and 4 inches long, while exhibit 2 weighs approximately 12 pounds and is 5 inches in diameter and 5 inches long.

Smith stated that the use of the cones gives the structure maximum strength with the minimum amount of material and, in his opinion as an engineer, they are structural shapes. The cones may be used horizontally or in any orientation. By their use, the quantity of concrete that would be required is reduced as much as 30 per centum and causes an even greater reduction in the quantity of steel which would otherwise be used. Witness Smith testified that the primary function of exhibits 1 and 2 is to apply compression and to hold it after it has been applied. The steel cables, when in tension, may or may not reinforce the concrete and need not come in contact with the concrete in the member, the real force being that which is exerted on each end thereof by the cones.

The parties hereto have stipulated that the merchandise in issue is in chief value of steel and that the steel does not contain more than [227]*227one-tentb of 1 per centum of vanadium, nor more than two-tenths of 1 per centum of tungsten, molybdenum, or chromium, nor more than six-tenths of 1 per centum of nickel or cobalt.

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Bluebook (online)
42 Cust. Ct. 223, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/inter-continental-equipment-co-v-united-states-cusc-1959.