## Facts

- A Michigan corporation (Superior Products Company, doing business as Superior Wire) imported steel wire from Canada.
- The wire was produced in Canada by cold-drawing Spanish hot-rolled wire rod through dies after mechanical descaling.
- The Canadian drawing operation increased strength and changed certain physical characteristics, improved suitability for some uses, and increased value by about 15%.
- The United States and Spain had a Voluntary Restraint Agreement (VRA) covering wire and wire rod that required validated export licensing for covered Spanish-origin products.
- Customs ruled that drawing wire from wire rod did not constitute a substantial transformation and treated the merchandise as Spanish origin for VRA purposes.
- Customs excluded Superior’s shipment because it lacked the certificates required for Spanish-origin goods under the VRA.
- Superior protested the exclusion, Customs denied the protest, and Superior sued in the Court of International Trade (CIT), also seeking temporary and preliminary injunctive relief to permit continued imports during litigation.

## Issues

1. Whether the CIT had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(a) (protest jurisdiction) and whether residual jurisdiction under § 1581(i) was available or appropriate.
2. Whether cold-drawing Spanish wire rod into wire in Canada substantially transformed the merchandise so that its country of origin became Canada for VRA purposes.
3. Whether Superior satisfied the requirements for temporary or preliminary injunctive relief pending resolution on the merits.

## Decision

- The CIT exercised jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(a) based on the denial of a protest and declined to proceed under § 1581(i) absent a showing that § 1581(a) relief was manifestly inadequate.
- The court held that cold-drawing in Canada did not substantially transform Spanish wire rod into a new and different article of commerce; the wire remained of Spanish origin for the VRA.
- The court upheld Customs’ exclusion and denial of the protest.
- The court denied preliminary injunctive relief and discontinued temporary relief.

## Legal Principles

- Section 1581(a) is the ordinary jurisdictional basis for challenging Customs action following denial of a protest; § 1581(i) is reserved for exceptional situations where other statutory remedies are manifestly inadequate.
- Substantial transformation requires processing that results in a new and different article of commerce with a new name, character, or use; incremental changes in properties, size, or quality may be insufficient.
- For VRA country-of-origin determinations, downstream processing such as drawing wire from wire rod, without more, does not necessarily change origin from the source country of the rod.
- Preliminary injunctive relief requires, among other factors, a sufficient showing of likely success on the merits and irreparable harm; failure on these elements warrants denial.

## Conclusion

The CIT held that Canadian drawing of Spanish wire rod into wire did not substantially transform the product, so the merchandise remained Spanish origin and subject to the U.S.–Spain VRA certification requirements; Customs’ exclusion was sustained and preliminary injunctive relief was denied.


Superior Wire, a Div. of Superior Prods. Co. v. United States, 669 F. Supp. 472 (Ct. Int’l Trade 1987)