Trade Court Tosses Customs Case on Selective Cushioning Units
The Court of International Trade in a Feb. 13 order granted importer Strato's voluntary dismissal notice without prejudice in its customs case on selective cushioning units. While the U.S. did not serve an answer nor a motion for summary judgment in the case, Strato's counsel discussed with the government's counsel and agreed to voluntarily dismiss the case, the order said (Strato v. United States, CIT # 22-00315).
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The case concerns the classification and country of origin of selective cushioning units that absorb tension and compression forces between rail cars. The SCUs are assembled in Mexico from Chinese-origin steel plates and U.S.-origin elastomer pads. In November 2021, Strato's filed a ruling request concerning the classification, country of origin, and USMCA eligibility of the SCU and suggested subheading 8607.30.1000 with a duty rate of 3.6%.
CBP agreed to the subheading, though it found that no substantial transformation took place in Mexico and held that the country of origin for the fully assembled SCU was China, based on the origin of the steel plates. Strato took to the trade court to argue that a substantial transformation of the draft packs and buff packs components took place in Mexico (see 2211040027).