ADVERTISEMENT



Google       

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Administrative Law Blogs -> Customs Law

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Bookmark

Administrative Law

: Customs Law

Has the Court of International Trade Gone Nuts?

ADVERTISEMENTS
No.  I just say that to amuse the 12-year old boy inside me.  

In reality, the Court did issue an opinion on the classification of Mrs. May's All Natural Almond Crunch, which is made in China from California almonds.  The almonds are sent to China for various processes including sorting, roasting, and combining with other ingredients for make the crunch.  

Whenever anyone sends U.S. products abroad for processing and return, it is worth considering whether a Chapter 98 provision provides a partial duty exemption for the value of the U.S. origin components.  Unfortunately, there are strings attached to those provisions.

The tariff item at issue in this case was 9802.00.50, which provides for "Articles returned to the United States after having been exported to be advanced in value or improved in condition by any process of manufacture or other means . . . Articles exported for repairs or alterations: . . .
9802.00.50 Other . . . ."  The tricky part is that for this to work, you need to export X and import repaired or altered X, not Y.  So, the Court held that almonds were exported and almond crunch was imported.  This not a mere alteration (clearly the almonds were not "repaired").  Since it was not an alteration, the decision went to the government.

The other commonly used tariff item for U.S. goods returning is 9802.00.80.  The trick with that one is that the exported articles need to be ready for use in assembly without further manufacturing and not subjected to processes abroad other than assembly and operations incidental to assembly such as cleaning, painting, and lubricating.

If you are in the trenches and using 9802.00.80, be advised that your operations should be limited to assembly (i.e., the physical joining of two or more parts), cleaning, lubricating, painting, and things reasonably like those three exemplars.  Customs has some regs with examples of what they consider to be incidental to assembly.

Back to the case at hand.  Does 9802.00.80 possibly apply to to the almond crunch?  

No.  It's not assembly to coat the almonds in sugar and other materials.  Assembly is accomplished with screws, nails, glue, welding guns, and the like.  When I find almond crunch that is welded together, I'll reconsider my analysis.

Full post as published by Customs Law on May 04, 2009 (boomark / email).

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.
Related Law Articles

Trade Secrets
Former execs are hit with doctrine of inevitable disclosure.

Selection of State Supreme Court Judges
How State Court Judges are Selected

Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Career Choices
Descriptions of law enforcement occupations

Dumb Foreign Laws
Stupid Laws of Other Countries

California Supreme Court Proposition 8 Decision
Court Rejects Challenges to Proposition 8, but Finds Marriages Valid

Is Barack Obama a Natural Born Citizen?
Wrotnowski v. Bysiewicz (Supreme Court): Does Obama meet the constitutional requirements to be President

Lawsuits and Settlements

Kroger Shelled Pistachio Nuts
Recalled for Risk of Salmonella Contamination

Trade Secrets
Razorsight agreed to pay $4.5 million settlement in infringement lawsuit.

Newspaper Publisher
Star Tribune must pay St. Paul Pioneer Press a $3.8 million trade secrets act violations settlement.

Ebay Fined
French Court Sets Fine at $61 Million

Personal Injury
Appeals Court Upholds Congressional Legislation

AT&T International Roaming Charges, AT&T lawsuit
AT&T Faces International Roaming Charges Lawsuit

Related Searches

























































































































US Law
#1 Online Legal Resource













Your Blog Subscriptions
Subscribe to blogs

10,000+ Law Job Listings
Lawyer . Police . Paralegal . Etc
Earn a law-related degree
Are you the author of this blog? Adding USLaw.com to your Blogroll increases relevance. You qualify to display a USLaw Network badge.
Suggest changes to this blog's description or nominate another for inclusion. Register for updates.


Practice Area
Zip Code:

Contact a Lawyer Now!






0.0131 secs (new cache)