Taxation and State Taxation -- 2020



Ford Motor Co. v. United States   (U.S. Supreme Court)

Ford seeks to take van tariff engineering case to the U.S. Supreme Court

The NAM filed an amicus brief in support of Ford's petition for certiorari to reverse a decision that will generate uncertainty for tariff determinations for imported products, including imported automobiles. The case arose from Ford Motor Co.’s imports of the Transit Connect van. After importing the vans as passenger vehicles, Ford reconfigured the vans to allow their use as cargo vans. The U.S. Customs and Border protection applied a 25% tariff on the vehicles, concluding that the vans are properly classified as trucks subject to a 25% tariff rather than a passenger vehicle subject to a much lower 2.5% tariff. Ford challenged the tariff determination in the U.S. Court of International Trade and prevailed. On appeal, however, the Federal Circuit reversed, concluding that the ultimate intended use of the vehicles as cargo vans supported the higher tariff rate. After also filing at the federal circuit en banc level, the NAM filed an amicus brief in support to identify the uncertainty that manufacturers will face if tariffs are imposed based on possible subsequent reconfigurations of goods rather than their actual condition as imported. Unfortunately, on June 29, 2020, the Court denied review.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (March 19, 2020)