CIT Rules on Issue of Game or Toy; Cables
CIT rules against Customs' classification of Pop Up Wackeroos. In Mattel, Inc. and Fisher Price, Inc. (Mattel)v. U.S., the Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled in favor of Mattel that "Pop-Up Wackaroos" is properly classified under HTS 9504.90.4000 (3.9%, 1994) as "game machines, other than coin- or token-operated, etc."
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Examination of the merchandise shows that "Pop-Up Wackaroos," described on the box in which it is sold as a fast-paced preschool game for children ages 3-7, is essentially a scaled-down, children's version of "Whac-A-Mole," a game common in arcades and casinos.
Customs had argued that it properly classified the merchandise under HTS 9503.80.2000 (6.8%, 1994) as "other toys (except models), incorporating an electric motor" because it had properly concluded that the "Pop-Up Wackaroos" could not be classified as a "game" in HTS 9504 in accordance with its own 4-criteria formula.
However, the CIT stated that Custom's classification ruling is not entitled to Skidmore deference due to errors in its 4-criteria formula, among other reasons. Therefore, the CIT ruled that the "Pop-Up Wackaroos" is classified under HTS 9504.90.4000. (Slip Op. 04-104, decided 08/19/04, available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/Slip_op04/04-104.pdf)
CIT rules in favor of Customs' classification of three underwater cables. In ABB, Inc. v. U.S., the CIT ruled in favor of Customs' classification of two high voltage electrical cables under HTS 8544.60.4000 (3.5%, 2000) as "other electric conductors, for a voltage exceeding 1,000 V, of copper" and a fiber optic cable under HTS 8544.70.0000 (duty-free, 2000), which provides for "optical fiber cables."
ABB had argued that because the three cables were bound together with steel straps after importation, the cables were imported as unassembled parts of a single fiber optic cable assembled with electrical conductors, and such a cable would be classified under HTS 8544.70.0000.
However, the CIT agreed with Customs that because the three fully manufactured, functional cables were fastened together after importation through a project-specific process, they could not be classified as unassembled parts of a single fiber optic cable or composite machine. The CIT states that Customs classified the cables properly as three separate articles. (Slip Op. 04-112, dated 09/02/04, available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/Slip_op04/04-112.pdf)