S.I. Stud, Inc. v. United States

17 Ct. Int'l Trade 661
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedJuly 1, 1993
DocketCourt No. 90-12-00653
StatusPublished

This text of 17 Ct. Int'l Trade 661 (S.I. Stud, Inc. 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
S.I. Stud, Inc. v. United States, 17 Ct. Int'l Trade 661 (cit 1993).

Opinion

Memorandum Opinion

Musgrave, Judge:

This case concerns the classification of steel fasteners imported from Japan. The fasteners were manufactured by Sanwa Iron Works, Ltd. and imported by its wholly owned subsidiary, S.I. Stud, Inc., the plaintiff (“importer” or “S.I. Stud”). The imported fasteners in this case were entered between October 1987 and December 1989. Merchandise entered before January 1, 1989 is governed by the Tariff Schedules of the United States (“TSUS”). Merchandise entered on or after January 1,1989 is governed by the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States (“HTSUS”).

The imported fasteners have been classified by the Customs Service as studs under item 646.57, TSUS, or heading 7318.15.20, HTSUS, with one exception. The Customs Service had classified the fully threaded rods, which are long steel rods measuring about 12 feet in length and threaded their entire length, as “articles of* * * iron or steel * * * other * * * other * * * other” under item 657.25, TSUS, or as “threaded articles * * * other” under heading 7318.19.00, HTSUS. The Customs Service is now of the view that they are more specifically described as unfinished studs under item 646.57, TSUS, or heading 7318.15.50, HTSUS.1 The importer claims that the imported fasteners should be classified as bolts under item 646.54, TSUS, or heading 7318.15.20, HTSUS.

The competing items from the tariff schedules provide as follows:

Bolts, nuts, studs and studding, screws, and washers (including bolts and their nuts imported in the same shipment, and assembled bolts or screws and washers, with or without nuts); screw eyes, [662]*662screw hooks and screw rings; turnbuckles; all the foregoing not described in the foregoing provisions of this subpart, of base metal:
Of iron or steel:
646.54 Bolts and bolts and their nuts imported in the same shipment. 0.7% ad val.
646.57 Studs and studding. 4.7% ad val.
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Articles of iron or steel, not coated or plated with precious metal:

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Other articles:
Other:
657.25 Other:. 5.7% ad val.

The competing headings from the harmonized tariff schedule provide as follows:

Other screws and bolts, whether or not with their nuts or washers:

7318.15.20 Bolts and bolts and their nuts or washers entered or exported in the same shipment. 0.7% ad val.
7318.15.50 Studs . 4.7% ad val.
7318.19.00 Other. 5.7% ad val.

The parties have agreed to several facts, among them that the imported A325 and A490 fasteners, having hexagonal shaped heads, whether imported with or without nuts, are classifiable as bolts under item 646.54, TSUS. See Pretrial Order, Sched. E-1 at 10. The parties agree on the identity of the fasteners at issue here and the way in which they are used in the principal industry. The parties agree that the merchandise is an alloy steel continuous-thread headless fastener, with chamfered ends. Furthermore, the items are graded fasteners, used with two nuts each, and manufactured in accordance with standards that identify them for use under conditions of extreme stress and temperature. The stud bolt is employed by passing it through untapped holes in two flanges and securing it with a nut at each end. Pretrial Order Sch. C., par. 15, 16.

This case was tried before the Court on July 8, 1992. Each party called two witnesses. Mr. Kei Miyashita, president and general manager of the importer, and vice president of Sanwa Iron Works, testified for the importer. He described the imported fasteners at issue as measuring between 0.5 to 2.5 inches in diameter and 2 to 30 inches in length They are used primarily in the petroleum and petrochemical industries to fasten together pipe flanges. In addition, Mr. Miyashita testified that the importer’s customers cut the imported full thread rod into short sections to make studs. During his testimony, defendant demonstrated how Sanwa’s invoices and other business brochures refer to the fasteners as full threaded stud. Defendant’s Exhs. JJ & HH.

[663]*663The importer also called Mr. Thomas W. Cameron, its national sales manager. He is a member of various industry standards committees and has worked in the “stud industry” since 1960. He described the properties of the fasteners and also testified that they are known in the industry as “studs, all thread studs, all thread stud bolts, and continuous thread studs.” At no time did any witness testify that when the unfinished rod is cut up, the small sections are called bolts. Plaintiffs witnesses did concede that when customers order these fasteners they request all thread stud and not bolts.2

The government called Mr. William E . Windt, vice president of Texas Bolt Company, a domestic manufacturer of studs, nuts and bolts. He is a member of the American Society for Testing Materials (“ASTM”). Mr. Windt testified, inter alia, that the imported fasteners shown in Plaintiffs Exhibit 1A, B and C, and Defendant’s Exhibit NN and 00 are known, bought and sold in the fastener trade as A193 grade B7 all thread studs, and are not known, bought or sold in the trade as bolts.

Dr. George D. Bibel, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Akron and a registered professional engineer, testified as an expert for the government. Dr. Bibel is an independent consultant who has a long history of experience in the relevant field, including membership on various committees of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (“ASME”). He testified that the fasteners are known as studs and that he has ordered the fasteners for his research work from suppliers as “ASTM 193 B7 Studs.” Bibel Transcript at 71, 86.

The parties introduced definitions and illustrations of studs and bolts given in industry standards, technical handbooks, glossaries, dictionaries, and encyclopedias. After an examination of this evidence, as well as the testimony of the witnesses and the relevant tariff schedules, the Court finds that plaintiff did not overcome the presumption of correctness in the Customs Service’s assessment of the continuously threaded headless rod as a stud rather than a bolt.

The Customs Service’s classification is presumed correct, and the importer bears the burden of proving that decision was incorrect.3 28 U.S.C. § 2639 (a)(1) (1992); Stewart-Warner Corp. v. United States, 3 Fed. Cir. (T) 20, 22, 748 F.2d 663, 665 & n.6 (Fed. Cir. 1984); Jarvis Clark Co. v. United States, 2 Fed. Cir. (T) 70, 75, 733 F.2d 873 (1984). reh’g denied, 2 Fed. Cir. (T) 97, 739 F.2d 628 (1984).

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Bluebook (online)
17 Ct. Int'l Trade 661, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/si-stud-inc-v-united-states-cit-1993.