## Facts

- Automatic Plastic Molding, Inc. (APM) imported amphora-shaped glass containers in June and July 1997.
- U.S. Customs classified the merchandise under HTSUS subheading 7013.39.20 as decorative/household glassware, dutiable at 27.8% ad valorem, and liquidated the entries in May 1998.
- APM timely protested; Customs denied the protests in May 1999, and APM filed suit in the Court of International Trade under 19 U.S.C. § 1581(a).
- The containers were designed and produced to food-packaging industry specifications and sold to a food company that filled them with biscotti and sold the filled items as seasonal gifts at retail.
- The containers were not sold empty to consumers; they entered commerce as packaging for food.
- APM argued the correct classification was HTSUS subheading 7010.91.50, covering glass containers “of a kind used for the conveyance or packing of goods,” which was duty-free.
- After a bench trial with witness testimony from both sides, the court evaluated the containers’ commercial identity and principal use.

## Issues

1. Whether the amphora-shaped glass containers were “of a kind used for the conveyance or packing of goods” under HTSUS heading 7010, or instead decorative/household glassware under HTSUS heading 7013.
2. Whether the evidence of design, marketing, and actual commercial use established the principal use of the class or kind of merchandise at the time of importation.
3. Whether classification under heading 7010 legally precluded classification under heading 7013, which applies to glassware “other than that of heading 7010.”

## Decision

- The Court of International Trade held the containers were properly classified under HTSUS subheading 7010.91.50 as glass containers of a kind used for the conveyance or packing of goods.
- The court rejected Customs’ classification under HTSUS subheading 7013.39.20.
- The court entered judgment for APM and ordered reliquidation under heading 7010 with a refund of excess duties and interest.

## Legal Principles

- Tariff classification requires construing the tariff terms (law) and determining whether the merchandise fits those terms based on the record (fact).
- For “of a kind used for” provisions, classification turns on the principal use of the class or kind of goods in U.S. commerce at the time of importation, assessed through evidence of design, manufacture, marketing, and actual use.
- Attractive design or gift-oriented presentation does not, by itself, convert functional packaging into decorative glassware when the merchandise’s principal commercial function is to contain and present goods for sale.
- Heading 7013 is residual to heading 7010 by its terms (“other than that of heading 7010”); if merchandise falls within heading 7010, heading 7013 does not apply.

## Conclusion

Because the evidence showed the amphora-shaped glass items were designed, sold, and used as food-packaging containers and not as empty decorative household glassware, the court classified them under HTSUS heading 7010 and ordered Customs to reliquidate and refund the resulting excess duties with interest.


Automatic Plastic Molding, Inc. v. United States, 26 Ct. Int'l Trade 1201 (2002)