CIT Sends Customs Spat to Second Phase of Bench Trial

A customs lawsuit is set to enter the second phase of its bench trial to find whether importer SGS Sports' apparel qualifies for duty-free treatment, the Court of International Trade said in a March 21 opinion. SGS entered swimsuits under a duty-free special classification provision after first shipping them to Canada for warehousing at a supposedly related company's warehouse. The first phase of the trial was set up to find whether this warehousing agreement is a lease or similar use agreement. Finding the agreement to be a lease or similar use agreement, Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves's decision allows the trial to proceed to the next phase, which will be to determine if the swimsuits qualify for duty-free treatment under HTS subheading 9801.00.20.