Recent CIT Opinion Backs US Claim in Customs Spat on Dried Botanical Items, Gov't Says
The Court of International Trade's recent decision on the customs classification of frozen fruit mixtures supports the government's arguments in a customs spat on importer Second Nature Design's imports of dried botanical items used in home decor, the U.S. said in a notice of supplemental authority. Acknowledging that the trade court's recent opinion in Nature's Touch Frozen Foods v. U.S. is not final, the government nevertheless said that Judge Stephen Vaden's opinion backs its case (Second Nature Designs v. United States, CIT # 17-00271).
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The U.S. drew attention to two paragraphs in the opinion which said that under GRI 1, "if a product is not described in whole by any named subheading, it falls into the residual or basket subheading" (see 2305260048). Vaden added that "[w]hen interpreting the text of basket subheadings like 'Other,' the Federal Circuit has ruled that the term should be read broadly."
In the present suit, Second Nature is seeking a different classification for its imported merchandise, which was originally liquidated under subheading 0604.90.60 as "other" botanicals, dutiable at 7%. The importer said the proper subheading is 0604.90.60 as "dried or bleached" botanicals.