Norwegian Nitrogen Products Co v. United States

• Decision Date: 06 February 1933
• Docket Number: No. 272,272
• Citation: 77 L.Ed. 796,53 S.Ct. 350,288 U.S. 294
• Parties: NORWEGIAN NITROGEN PRODUCTS CO. v. UNITED STATES
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

288 U.S. 294

53 S.Ct. 350

77 L.Ed. 796

NORWEGIAN NITROGEN PRODUCTS CO.

v UNITED STATES.

No. 272.

Argued Jan. 10, 11, 1933.

Decided Feb. 6, 1933.

[Syllabus from pages 294-296 intentionally omitted] Messrs. Marion De Vries and Jesse P. Crawford, both of Washington, D.C., for petitioner.

The Attorney General, Messrs. Thomas D.Thacher, Sol. Gen., and Robert P. Reeder, both of Washington, D.C., for the United States.

Mr. Justice CARDOZO delivered the opinion of the Court.

On May 6, 1924 (43 Stat. 1949) the President of the United States determined and proclaimed that an increase in the rate of duty on sodium nitrite was necessary to equalize the differences in the costs of production in the United States and the principal competing country, Norway, and that to that end the duty should be increased from 3 cents per pound to 4 1/2 cents per pound. The proclamation was made after an investigation and report by the United States Tariff Commission under the flexible tariff provisions of the Tariff Act of 1922. Tariff Act of September 21, 1922, c. 356, § 315, 42 Stat. 858, 941—943 (19 USCA §§ 154—159). After the new rate of duty had thus gone into effect, there were new importations of sodium nitrite at the port of New York. The duty was assessed by the customs officers in accordance with the proclamation; and protests were filed by the petitioner, which is the exclusive agent within the United States of the leading exporter to this country of the commodity affected. The protests were made upon the ground that the Tariff Commission in investigating the costs of production in the United States and Norway had not given the petitioner the hearing prescribed by the statute, and that all that followed was of no validity. A judgment of the Customs Court overruling the protests (T.D. 44,824, 59 Treas.Dec. 921) was affirmed by the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. T.D. 45,674. A writ of certiorari brings the case here.

In October, 1922, the American Nitrogen Products Company submitted to the Tariff Commission a request for a report and recommendation to the President that the duty on sodium nitrite be increased 50 per cent. It stated in this request that with every reasonable effort to economize it had been unable to compete with the foreign manufacturers and had been forced to close its plant. In response to this request, the Commission on March 27, 1923, ordered that an investigation be made, declared that a public hearing would be held on a date thereafter to be fixed, and gave public notice of its order. The Commission then proceeded to the business of investigation. From the chief producers of sodium nitrite in the United States (the American Nitrogen Products Company and another), the agents of the Commission received the fullest measure of disclosure as to the costs of production and other details of the business. The information as to costs was subject to a pledge of secrecy; the manufacturers taking the position, to which the Commission acceded, that costs were trade secrets, to be withheld from competitors. The chief foreign producers were two; the Norsk-Hydro, a Norwegian company, represented by the petitioner, and the Badische-Anilin of Germany. Both foreign producers refused to supply the investigators for the Commission with any statement of costs, or to permit access to their records. The Norwegian company wrote afterwards in a cablegram to the petitioner: 'On principle we always refuse publish cost price, consequently did not furnish investigators any information enabling them calculate cost price.' The Commission was hindered, but not baffled. Its investigators went to Norway, and, consulting other sources of information, made an estimate of cost as best they could. By July 20, 1923, the preliminary investigation was over, and the Commission was ready for a public hearing. It gave public notice on that date that on September 10, 1923, all parties interested would be given an opportunity to appear before the Commission, to produce evidence, and to be heard with regard to differences in the cost of sodium nitrite and any other facts and conditions affecting the inquiry.

At the time thus appointed, the petitioner appeared, represented by its counsel. It made a motion at the beginning that it receive a complete copy of the request or application for an increase of rates. The copy already furnished to it was not complete, in that the details of the costs of production at the applicant's factory had been left out. The president of the applicant protested that the information as to costs had been given under a promise to hold it confidential, and the chairman of the Commission thereupon assured him that the promise would be kept. The request of the importer was accordingly refused. The hearing then proceeded; the president of the American Nitrogen Products Company appearing as a witness. He gave general information as to the state of the industry, showing by his testimony that the foreign producers were selling their product in this country at a lower price than they were selling it in their home markets, and showing also that by reason of a difference in the manufacturing process in this country and abroad the foreign producers were able to manufacture sodium nitrite as a by-product, and thus to dispose of it far more cheaply than was possible here. A change of the domestic plant in adaptation to the foreign process would involve prohibitory expense. Counsel for the importer was allowed to cross-examine as to everything brought out at the public hearing. He was not allowed, however, to extract from the witness a statement of the costs of production; the witness again protesting that disclosure of these costs, though it had been made to the Commission in the preliminary investigation, ought not to be made in public for the use of a competitor. At the end of the examination, there was an adjournment of the hearing until September 26.

In the interval, there were other happenings that bear on the merits of the controversy. On September 15, 1923, the Commission made public a report or summary of its information, still omitting, however, any statement as to the costs of production at the applicant's domestic plant. On September 11, it received a letter from the importer's counsel renewing his demand for a complete copy of the application and demanding at the same time that 'every particle of evidence gathered by the Commission or its representatives' be submitted to his inspection, and that he be accorded the privilege of examining any and all witnesses, including the field agents of the Commission, with reference thereto. On September 24, the Commission wrote to counsel refusing his request for a disclosure of 'every particle of evidence,' but stating that the American Nitrogen Products Company had agreed to disclose its cost of production data if the opposition, the Norwegian Nitrogen Products Company, would furnish cost data for the Norwegian product. The importer did not accept this offer. It did not present any excuse for failing to accept it. It did not even state that it had made any effort to induce its principal abroad to supply it with the necessary data. It paid no attention to the suggestion that disclosure should be mutual, and stood upon its rights, whatever they might be.

On September 26, the hearing went on again. Counsel for the importers submitted copies of cablegrams exchanged between his client and its Norwegian principal. The cablegram from the client informed the principal of the estimate of costs of production in Norway contained in the summary prepared by the Commission. The answering cablegram stated that the estimate was far too low, but confirmed the report of the investigators that information had been refused on the ground that the costs were confidential. That part of the cablegram has been quoted already. The chairman, responding to a request for an adjournment of thirty days, made inquiry of counsel whether definite figures would be obtained from Nor- way in return for the extension. To this counsel retorted that he was not offering any consideration, nor joining in any barter, but 'relying strictly upon the statute.' The outcome of the colloquy was an order for an adjournment until October 6. Before this adjournment was taken, counsel submitted five separate requests. Request number one was that his client 'have reasonable opportunity to inspect and to be heard upon all evidence which has been offered in this case, not deemed by the Commission trade secrets, or not, in fact, trade secrets.' Request number two was to inspect and to be fully heard upon 'all the evidence in the possession of the Commission as to the cost of power in the United States in the production of nitrite.' Number three was a like request with reference to the number of laborers employed by the American Nitrogen Products Company, and the wages paid. Number four was a like request with reference to the capital invested in its plant. Number five was a request that the experts of the Commission be produced for cross-examination with reference to the information collected by them in the course of the inquiry, and that the importer be permitted to offer testimony and to be heard in opposition thereto.

At the adjourned hearing on October 6, the Commission announced its ruling with reference to these requests; notice of the ruling having been previously conveyed to counsel for the importer. The decision was, in substance, that data gathered by the Commission with the understanding that they were to be treated as confidential would be withheld; that the investigators working for the Commission would not be required to produce such data or to be cross-examined about them; but that as to all these subjects of inquiry the importer would be permitted to offer any evidence that it was able to present, and to be heard in oral and written argument with reference thereto. Upon the announcement of this ruling counsel...