Mercantil Distribuidora, S. A. v. United States

Donlon, Judge:

The merchandise is described in the invoices and entries as boneless cured beef. It was imported from Mexico and Argentina and entered at the ports of Laredo and New York, on May 25, 1951, and on various dates thereafter in 1951.

Prior to May 25, 1951, and effective during the period of these imports, the Secretary of Agriculture, under authority of section 306 of the Tariff Act of 1930, determined that rinderpest, or foot-and-mouth disease, existed in Mexico and Argentina and declared importations of beef from those countries prohibited. Notice of this de*307termination and…