Court Opinion

ID: 9491813
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:24:27.923965+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:54:57.218197
License: Public Domain

MAYER, Chief Judge,
dissenting.
While I agree with the court that the principle of de minimis non curat lex should be applied in this case, I must dissent from *906the use of a test that considers only quantitative factors. When judging whether an ingredient in an imported good is to be considered a “small or trifling matter[],” Black’s Law Dictionary 431 (6th ed.1990), the amount and value of the component is certainly relevant, but its function is meaningful as well. Therefore, I would apply the de minimis principle here through both qualitative and quantitative analyses.
An element that is a vital piece of a good’s function cannot be described as “small or trifling,” no matter its quantity. The grain refiner at issue is an excellent example. If the grain refiner itself were the imported product, it could enjoy preferential tariff status under the court’s holding if its aluminum, which makes up the bulk of the refiner, were from Canada — even though its boron and titanium, which are the only ingredients that operate as a grain refiner, originate in another country. By ignoring all qualitative factors, the court would allow the only functioning components of a product to escape simply because they are included with a large amount of non-essential material. This stands the de minimis principle on its head.
The court is correct in recognizing the importance of a statute’s purpose when applying the de minimis principle, see Wisconsin Dept. of Revenue v. William Wrigley, Jr., Co., 505 U.S. 214, 232, 112 S.Ct. 2447, 120 L.Ed.2d 174 (1992), but that does not militate against the need to consider qualitative measures. Moreover, although the court attempts to distinguish the country-of-origin issue here from the classification cases that use both quantitative and qualitative analy-ses, see, e.g., United States v. Aceto Chem. Co., 64 C.C.P.A. 78, 553 F.2d 685 (1977); Varsity Watch Co. v. United States, 34 C.C.P.A. 155, 1947 WL 5096 (1947), the distinctions are inconsequential. Whether a good’s classification or its origin is being determined, quantitative factors alone are insufficient to declare that one of its elements is de minimis. Only consideration of qualitative factors prevents manufacturers from skirting the purpose of trade agreements by combining the essential elements of a good with a large amount of relatively unimportant carriers.
Here, it was stipulated that the grain refiner is a minor part, by weight and cost, of the finished aluminum ingots. For those ingots in which it is used, however, the refiner appears to play a significant role in production by minimizing cracking when the molten metal is cast and then solidified. Therefore, it is not at all clear, despite the court’s view to the contrary, that the non-Canadian grain refiner is a “small or trifling matter” in this imported good.