M. W. Zack Metal Co. v. United States

26 Cust. Ct. 91, 1951 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 16
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedFebruary 28, 1951
DocketC. D. 1306
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 26 Cust. Ct. 91 (M. W. Zack Metal 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
M. W. Zack Metal Co. v. United States, 26 Cust. Ct. 91, 1951 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 16 (cusc 1951).

Opinion

Cole, Judge:

Plaintiff, a dealer in virgin and secondary nonferrous metals, imported at the port of Detroit, Mich., a zinc alloy, which was classified as a combination of chemical elements and assessed with duty at 25 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 5 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U. S. C. § 1001, par. 5).1 Claim is made for classification as zinc in slabs, dutiable at seven-eighths of 1 cent per pound, either directly under paragraph 394 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 82 Treas. Dec. 305, T. D. 51802,2 or within the provisions of paragraph 1559 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U. S. C. § 1001, par. 1559),3 either [93]*93by similitude or as a nonenumerated article composed of more than two materials.

The case was heard and submitted before a single member of this court on circuit, under statutory authorization issued by the chief judge to hear or to hear and determine the case (28 U. S. C. (1946 ed., Supp. III) § 254). My views set forth in Geo. S. Bush & Co., Inc., et al. v. United States, 22 Cust. Ct. 158, C. D. 1175, questioning the jurisdiction of the division to decide a case somewhat similar to these proceedings, continue as the minority expression from the division. Under the practice and procedure of the court and the rules applicable thereto, much litigation before the court is dependent upon my participation in a decision of the same. Adhering, however, to my position in the Bush case, supra, but for the purpose of expediting the work of the court, I am preparing this opinion and participating in the judgment attached thereto.

The parties agree that the zinc alloy in question is composed of approximately 95 per centum zinc, 4 per centum aluminum, and 1 per centum copper, plus a very small amount of magnesium and impurities; that the presence of the various components in the stated proportions was intentional; and that the component material of chief value is zinc.

The uncontradicted testimony of seven well-qualified witnesses, appearing on behalf of plaintiff, supports the following factual foundation.

Importation of this commodity was the result of a purchase agreement between plaintiff and the Ternstedt Division of General Motors Corp. (hereinafter referred to as “Ternstedt”). The need therefor developed from a demand for zinc, nece'ssary to meet production schedules. Because of the shortage of “special high grade zinc” (99.99 per centum pure), ordinarily used by “Ternstedt,” a substitute had to be found which resulted in the shipments in question.

The present merchandise was received in the form of slabs, plaintiff’s exhibit 2-A, and is known as “Zamak,” a patented trade name of the New Jersey Zinc Co. to designate die-casting material. Analysis thereof revealed that it was below specifications of the zinc alloy regularly used by “Ternstedt,” so quantities of virgin zinc, aluminum, copper, and magnesium were blended with the imported substance, bringing it to “Ternstedt’s” standard. To purify the mixture, a flux was sprinkled on the molten metal, and by stirring and agitation, the impurities were brought to the top and then removed by scooping and scraping, making the alloy available for the manufacture of automobile hardware, particularly door handles. In process, the material is forced by pressure into a die with cavities already cut and wherein the metallic alloy solidifies and is then removed, plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 3. It is subjected to a trimming process, plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 4, and finally plated and buffed to complete the door handle, plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit 5.

[94]*94Two witnesses, both engineers and employed by “Ternstedt” in technical capacities associated with die-casting research and process development, admitted that zinc, aluminum, copper, and magnesium are chemical elements, and that the product under consideration is a mixture thereof. Counsel for defendant, in their brief, point to those statements as virtual concessions, substantiating the collector’s classification. But we do not accept them as such. Appearing, as they do, in the fight of testimony to the effect that “everything in the world” is a mixture or a combination of chemical elements, the witnesses’ opinions are taken as coming from a purely scientific standpoint. Such testimony is not entitled to controlling influence, under the well-recognized rule that in the interpretation of tariff laws, statutory language should be considered, not in the terms of science, but rather according to the common meaning (in the absence of proof of commercial designation) of the words. The principle was expressed in Hummel Chemical Co. v. United States, 29 C. C. P. A. 178, C. A. D. 189, in this way:

It is well established that in the interpretation of tariff laws words are to be taken in their commonly received and popular sense, or according to their commercial designation if that differs from the ordinary understanding of the word. Lutz v. Magone, 153 U. S. 105. It is also well established that tariff laws are not drafted in the terms of science, but in the language of commerce, which is presumptively that in common use. Meyer & Lange et al. v. United States, 6 Ct. Cust. Appls. 181, T. D. 35436; United States v. Merck & Co., 8 Ct. Cust. Appls. 171, T. D. 37288.

Of greatest importance herein is the testimony that in commercial and industrial practice (both productionwise and saleswise), metals, chemicals, and plastics are handled in separate and distinct categories; that zinc is a chemical and also a metal; and that the present merchandise is not a combination or a mixture of chemical elements, but an alloy of metals, mechanically, not chemically, mixed.

Counsel for plaintiff, in their brief, argue that “The fact that the material is not chemically pure zinc does not take it out of the zinc classification; neither does the fact that the small additions were intentional and for the purpose of improving the working qualities of the material.” Several cases are cited to support the contention, i. e., Dejonge v. Magone, 159 U. S. 562; Langerman & Petty v. United States, 75 Fed. 1; United States v. Aetna Explosives Company, 256 U. S. 402; Sheffler Merchandise Co., Inc. v. United States, 35 C. C. P. A. 63, C. A. D. 372; United States v. Rockhill & Vietor et al., 10 Ct. Cust. Appls. 112, T. D. 38374; Bush & Co. Inc.) v. United States, 11 Ct. Cust. Appls. 246, T. D. 39076.

None of those cases supply reason for supporting plaintiff’s position. Each of them presented an issue materially different from that before us, and all resulted in conclusions that cannot be applied herein. For instance, in the Dejonge v. Magone case, the Court found that [95]*95the commercial meaning for “fancy papers” included tbe merchandise there under consideration. The same was true in the

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Bluebook (online)
26 Cust. Ct. 91, 1951 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/m-w-zack-metal-co-v-united-states-cusc-1951.