American Sporting Goods v. United States

OPINION

GOLDBERG, Senior Judge.

This matter is before the Court following trial de novo. At issue is the proper classification of six entries of certain footwear that the plaintiff calls “chula” sandals (“sandals”). The parties agree on the basic nature of the merchandise in dispute and that it is classifiable as “[o]ther footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics: [o]ther footwear” under heading 6402 of the 1994 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”).

They part company with respect to a single issue: whether the external surface area of the upper (“ESAU”) of…