Russell Stadelman & Co. v. United States

83 F. Supp. 2d 1356, 23 C.I.T. 1036
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedDecember 21, 1999
DocketSlip Op. 99-139; Court No. 96-08-01911
StatusPublished

This text of 83 F. Supp. 2d 1356 (Russell Stadelman & Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of International Trade primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Russell Stadelman & Co. v. United States, 83 F. Supp. 2d 1356, 23 C.I.T. 1036 (cit 1999).

Opinion

Opinion

POGUE, Judge.

Plaintiff, Russell Stadelman & Co., challenges a decision of the United States Customs Service (“Customs”) denying Plaintiffs protests filed in accordance with section 514 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. § 1514 (1994). At issue is the proper tariff classification under 19 U.S.C. § 1202 (1994), Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), of Plaintiffs imports of su-mauma (Ceiba pentandra) plywood, fa-veira (Parkia spp.) plywood, and mangue (T.rhoisoia) plywood from Brazil.1

Plaintiff claims that the subject merchandise is classifiable under subheading 4412.11.20, HTSUS (1992-1995),2 which covers “[pjlywood consisting solely of sheets of wood, each ply not exceeding 6 mm in thickness ... [wjith at least one outer ply of the following tropical woods: ... Baboen[.j” Plywood imported from Brazil and classifiable under subheading 4412.11.20, HTSUS, is eligible for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (“GSP”). Customs classified the merchandise under a residual provision, subheading 4412.12.20, HTSUS (1992-1995), which covers “[pjlywood consisting solely of sheets of wood, each ply not exceeding 6 mm in thickness[,j” and not requiring an outer ply of one of the tropical woods enumerated in subheading 4412.11, HTSUS. Brazilian imports classifiable under subheading 4412.12.20, HTSUS, are not eligible for GSP treatment; therefore, Customs assessed the subject merchandise at the provided 8% duty rate.

Jurisdiction is predicated on 28 U.S.C. § 1581(a)(1994); therefore, Customs’ classification is subject to de novo review pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2640 (1994). This action is before the Court on the cross-motions for summary judgment made by Plaintiff and Defendant, the United States, pursuant to USCIT Rule 56.3

Standard of Review

Under USCIT Rule 56, summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” USCIT Rule 56(d); see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 [1358]*1358L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2648, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

The Court analyzes a Customs classification issue in two steps: “first, [it] construe[s] the relevant classification headings; and second, [it] determined] under which of the properly construed tariff terms the merchandise at issue falls.” Bausch & Lomb, Inc. v. United States, 148 F.3d 1363, 1365 (Fed.Cir.1998) (citing Universal Elecs., Inc. v. United States, 112 F.3d 488, 491 (Fed.Cir.1997)). Whether the subject merchandise is properly classified is ultimately a question of law. See id. Summary judgment of a classification issue is therefore appropriate “when there is no genuine dispute as to the underlying factual issue of exactly what the merchandise is.” 4 Id.

Here, the parties' agree what the merchandise is. The parties agree that the subject merchandise “consists of sheets of plywood, with no single ply exceeding 6 mm. [sic] in thickness, and [that are] not surface covered.” Pl.’s Statement of Material Facts As To Which There Is No Genuine Issue To Be Tried (“Pl.’s Statement”) ¶ 1; Def.’s Resp. to Pl.’s Statement ¶ 1. Moreover, the parties agree that the merchandise at issue consists of sumauma 0Ceiba pentandra) plywood, faveira (Par-kia spp.) plywood, and mangue (T.rhois-oia ) plywood.5 See Def.’s Additional Statement of Material Facts As To Which There Is No Genuine Issue To Be Tried (“Def.’s Additional Statement”) ¶ 1; Pl.’s Resp. To Def.’s Additional Statement ¶ 1. Thus, Plaintiff and Defendant do not disagree as to what the merchandise is; they simply disagree as to how it should be classified. Summary judgment of the classification issue is therefore appropriate.

Discussion

The HTSUS consists of (A) the General Notes; (B) the General Rules of Interpretation; (C) the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation; (D) sections I to XXII, inclusive (encompassing chapters 1 to 99, and including all section and chapter notes, article provisions, and tariff and other treatment accorded thereto); and (E) the Chemical Appendix.

The proper classification of merchandise is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRI”) to the HTSUS. See Orlando Food Corp. v. United States, 140 F.3d 1437, 1439 (Fed.Cir.1998). GRI 1 for the HTSUS provides that, “for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the head[1359]*1359ings and any relative section or chapter notes....” GRI 1, HTSUS; see also Orlando Food Corp., 140 F.3d at 1440; Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, Explanatory Notes (1st ed. 1986) (“Explanatory Notes”)6 at 1 (“[T]he terms of the headings and any relative Section or Chapter Notes are paramount, i.e., they are the first consideration in determining classification[.]”). Here, the parties agree that the subject imports should be classified under heading 4412, HTSUS, but dispute the correct subheading. Therefore, the Court reviews the parties’ proffered classifications pursuant to GRI 6. See GRI 6, HTSUS (“For legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the [preceding GRIs], on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable.”).

The merchandise at issue literally falls within the scope of Customs’ classification under subheading 4412.12.20, HTSUS, a residual provision covering plywood without an outer ply of one of the tropical woods enumerated in subheading 4412.11, HTSUS. Plaintiff argues, however, that the subject merchandise is more specifically classifiable under subheading 4412.11.20, HTSUS, as plywood with at least one outer ply of the tropical wood “baboen.” Classification of imported merchandise in a residual, or “basket,” provision is only appropriate when there is no tariff category that covers the merchandise more specifically. See EM Indus., Inc. v. United States, 22 CIT -, -, 999 F.Supp. 1473, 1480 (1998) (“ ‘Basket’ or residual provisions of HTSUS Headings ...

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Bluebook (online)
83 F. Supp. 2d 1356, 23 C.I.T. 1036, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/russell-stadelman-co-v-united-states-cit-1999.