Rocknel Fastener, Inc. v. U.S., SLIP OP. 00-112.

• Decision Date: 29 August 2000
• Docket Number: No. 97-10-01702.,SLIP OP. 00-112.,97-10-01702.
• Citation: 118 F.Supp.2d 1238
• Parties: ROCKNEL FASTENER, INC., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. Court of International Trade

118 F.Supp.2d 1238

ROCKNEL FASTENER, INC., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.

SLIP OP. 00-112.

No. 97-10-01702.

United States Court of International Trade.

August 29, 2000.

Sonnenberg & Anderson, Chicago, IL (Steven P. Sonnenberg), for plaintiff.

David W. Ogden, Acting Assistant Attorney General; Joseph I. Liebman, Attorney in Charge, International Trade Field Office, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice; Amy M. Rubin, Attorney, International Trade Field Office, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice; Sheryl A. French, of counsel, Office of Assistant Chief Counsel, International Trade Litigation, United States Customs Service; for defendant.

OPINION

GOLDBERG, Judge.

This matter is before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment. Plaintiff, Rocknel Fastener Inc. ("plaintiff"), challenges the United States Customs Service's ("Customs") classification of certain fasteners as screws "[h]aving shanks or threads with a diameter of 6 mm or more" under subheading 7318.15.80 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (1997) ("HTSUS"). Plaintiff claims the imported fasteners should instead be classified as "[b]olts and bolts and their nuts or washers" under HTSUS subheading 7318.15.20.

The Court exercises jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1581(a) (1994). For the reasons that follow, the Court grants defendant's motion for summary judgment and denies plaintiff's motion for the same.

I. BACKGROUND

The merchandise at issue consists of 56¹ different industrial, externally threaded fasteners from Japan. See Pl.'s Mem. of Law in Supp. of its Mot. for Summ. J. ("Pl.'s Br."), at 1; Def.'s Mem. in Supp. of its Cross-Mot. for Summ. J. and in Opp'n to Pl.'s Mot. for Summ. J. ("Def.'s Br."), at 1. The fasteners are fabricated from metal alloys, see Pl.'s Br., at 1; Def.'s Br., at 1, and are designed to hold or fasten components of a finished product together. See Pl's Statement of Material Facts to Which There Is No Genuine Triable Issue ("Pl.'s Stmt. Mat'l Facts"), at ¶ 17; Def.'s Resp. to Pl.'s Statement of Material Facts as to Which There Are No Genuine Issues to Be Tried ("Def.'s Resp. to Pl.'s Facts"), at ¶ 17.

The fasteners are rod- or pin-shaped, and are threaded on one end. See Pl.'s Stmt. Mat'l Facts, at ¶ 10, ¶ 12; Def.'s Resp. to Pl.'s Facts, at ¶ 10, ¶ 12. The diameter of each fastener's threads measures six millimeters or more. See Pl.'s Stmt. Mat'l Facts, at ¶ 9; Def.'s Resp. to Pl.'s Facts, at ¶ 9.

The fasteners also have a "head" on the end of the pin opposite the threads. See Pl.'s Stmt. Mat'l Facts, at ¶ 11; Def.'s Resp. to Pl.'s Facts, at ¶ 11. The fasteners were designed to be, and are installed by, torquing these heads. See Def.'s Statement of Additional Material Facts as to Which There Are No Genuine Issues to Be Tried ("Def.'s Stmt. Add'l Facts"), at ¶ 32, ¶ 33; Pl.'s Resp. to Def.'s Statement of Material Facts Not in Issue ("Pl.'s Resp. to Def.'s Facts"), at ¶ 32, ¶ 33.

Plaintiff entered the subject fasteners into the United States between March 14, 1997 and May 7, 1997. On August 1, 1997, Customs liquidated the fasteners under 7318.15.80 at a rate of 8.9% ad valorem. On August 21, 1997, plaintiff filed a protest, claiming the fasteners should have been classified under 7318.15.20, subject to a duty rate of 0.3% ad valorem. Customs denied the protest on September 18, 1997, after which plaintiff timely filed this action.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

This case is before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment. Summary judgment is appropriate when "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." See USCIT R. 56(d).

The "[c]lassification of goods entails a two-step process: (1) ascertaining the proper meaning of specific terms in the tariff provision; and (2) determining whether the merchandise in question comes within the description of the properly construed terms." Hewlett-Packard Co. v. United States, 189 F.3d 1346, 1348 (Fed.Cir.1999). In this case, the parties agree on the physical characteristics of the imported fasteners. Thus, the Court must determine only "the proper meaning and scope of the relevant provisions." Carl Zeiss, Inc. v. United States, 195 F.3d 1375, 1378 (Fed.Cir.1999). Because the meaning of tariff terms is a question of law, see id., summary judgment is appropriate in this case.

In reviewing Customs's classification, the Court must determine the correct classification for the subject merchandise. See Jarvis Clark Co. v. United States, 733 F.2d 873, 878, 2 Fed. Cir.(T) 70, 75 (1984). Its review of Customs's classification ruling is de novo. See 28 U.S.C. § 2640 (1994). Ordinarily, classification rulings are entitled to a statutory presumption of correctness. See 28 U.S.C. § 2639(a)(1) (1994). Because the Court is faced with a question of law on motions for summary judgment, however, no presumption of correctness attaches to Customs's classification. See Universal Elecs. Inc. v. United States, 112 F.3d 488, 492 (Fed.Cir.1997). In addition, the Court does not apply Chevron deference to Customs's classification rulings. See Carl Zeiss, 195 F.3d at 1378; Mead Corp. v. United States, 185 F.3d 1304, 1307 (Fed.Cir.1999), cert. granted, ___ U.S. ___, 120 S.Ct. 2193, 147 L.Ed.2d 231 (U.S. May 30, 2000) (No. 99-1434).

III. DISCUSSION

Plaintiff claims the subject fasteners should be classified as bolts under subheading 7318.15.20. In support of its argument, plaintiff relies on general dictionary definitions and its understanding of prior case law.

Defendant asserts that the subject fasteners are properly classified as screws under subheading 7318.15.80. As the basis for its classification, defendant relies on ANSI/ASME Standard B18.2.1 (1981) ("the Standard"), which identifies screws and bolts according to primary and supplementary design characteristics.

The starting point in every classification case is the tariff schedule. Accordingly, the Court begins by examining the structure of the statute. Next, the Court considers the specific tariff provisions in question, and in particular, the meaning of the tariff terms "bolt" and "screw." After reviewing dictionary definitions, fastener industry standards, and judicial precedent, the Court concludes that the common and commercial meaning of bolt and screw is embodied by ANSI/ASME Standard B18.2.1. Because the subject fasteners are screws as defined by the Standard, the Court concludes that Customs's classification is correct.

A. Congress Intended That Customs Distinguish Bolts From Screws.

Before turning to the specific tariff terms at issue in this case, it is important to examine the structure of heading 7318. The relevant portions of Heading 7318 are:

                7318          Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotter pins
                              washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel
                                   Threaded articles:
                              *** *** ***
                7318.15             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
                              *** *** ***
                7318.15.40                     Machine screws 9.5 mm or more in in length and 3.2 mm or
                                               more in diameter (not including cap screws)
                7318.15.50                     Studs
                              *** *** ***
                                               Other:
                7318.15.60                          Having shanks or threads with a of
                                                    less than 6 mm
                              *** *** ***
                7318.15.80                          Having shanks or threads with a diameter of 6
                                                    mm or more
                              *** *** ***
                7318, HTSUS (1997 ed.).
                

In conformance with the general organization of the tariff schedule, heading 7318 encompasses a number of like items. And like all tariff headings, heading 7318 is broken out into six and eight digit subheadings for classification of articles thereunder. In particular, six-digit subheading 7318.15 applies to both "other screws" and "bolts." The first eight-digit provision under that subheading, 7318.15.20, applies only to bolts. For purposes of classification under 7318.15, then, Congress clearly considered bolts and screws to be different articles, and intended Customs to classify them under separate provisions. As a corollary to this, a fastener cannot be both a bolt and a screw, but must be one or the other.

B. The Common and Commercial Meaning of Bolt and Screw.

Having established that Congress intended Customs to distinguish "bolts" from "other screws," the Court now turns to the meaning of those terms. Neither the HTSUS nor its legislative history define bolt or screw. Therefore, each term must be construed according to its common and commercial meaning, which are presumptively the same. See Mead Corp., 185 F.3d at 1308.

The Court may utilize a number of sources to ascertain the common and commercial meaning of bolt and screw, including dictionaries of general usage, scientific authorities, witness testimony, "its own understanding of the term," see Sabritas, S.A. de C.V. v. United States, 22 CIT ___, ___, 998 F.Supp. 1123, 1127 (1998), and "other reliable information sources." Mead Corp., 185 F.3d at 1308. In cases such as this, courts often looks to industrial or commercial standards for guidance in interpreting tariff terms. See, e.g., North Am. Processing Co. v. United States, 23 CIT ___, ___, 56 F.Supp.2d 1174, 1180 (1999) (deeming USDA regulations "persuasive" support for the common and commercial meaning of "meat"); THK America, Inc. v. United States, 17 CIT 1169, 1174, 837 F.Supp. 427, 432 (1993) (consulting American National Standard AFBMA Standard Terminology for...