Superior Wire, a Division of Superior Products Co. v. United States

Superior Wire, a Division of Superior Products Company (Superior Wire) (plaintiff) was an importer of wire made from Spanish hot-rolled wire rod. Superior Wire would order the wire rod from Spain for delivery to Canada. Superior Wire would then obtain finished cold-drawn wire from a related company in Ontario, Canada. Wire rod was produced at a rolling mill that cost between 60 and 100 million dollars and involved hundreds of employees to complete the demanding and involved process. The process of turning wire rod into wire involved a cold-drawing facility that cost about $250,000. At the facility, wire rod was fed into a machine containing dies that cold-drew the wire rod into wire. This process increased the strength of the wire, made it rounder, less springy, smoother, and less ductile. The process increased the value of the wire rod by 15 percent. The wire imported by Superior Wire was predominantly used for making wire mesh for concrete sewer-pipe reinforcement. The United States Customs Service (defendant) excluded Superior Wire’s shipment of wire made from the wire rod produced in Spain because it was not accompanied by certification allowing entry under a voluntary restraint agreement (VRA) with Spain. Superior Wire protested against the exclusion of the shipment and argued that the wire rod was substantially transformed in Canada into wire so that it was a product of Canada, not Spain, and therefore not covered by a VRA. Superior Wire sought a preliminary injunction to allow it to continue importing the wire.