The Pillsbury Co. v. United States

431 F.3d 1377 (2005)

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The Pillsbury Co. v. United States

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
431 F.3d 1377 (2005)

Facts

The Pillsbury Company (Pillsbury) (plaintiff) imported Haagen-Dazs frozen desert bars consisting of a mixture of 12 percent yogurt and 88 percent ice cream, covered with raspberry or chocolate sorbet. The bars were made by pouring sorbet into a mold, freezing the outside, sucking out the unfrozen center, and filling it in with the yogurt-and-ice-cream mix. The sorbet layer made up the larger percentage of the weight of the bar. However, the bars were marketed as frozen yogurt dipped in sorbet. United States Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (customs) (defendant) classified the bars as “malted milk and articles of milk or cream” under subheading 2105.00.40 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) and relevant explanatory notes. Pillsbury challenged the classification, arguing that the bars must be classified either as other ice cream products under subheading 2105.00.50, because the bars were predominantly made of sorbet, or as yogurt under subheading 0403.10.90.00. The United States Court of International Trade held that the bars were properly classified under subheading 2105.00.40 because the ice-cream base gave the bar its essential character. Pillsbury appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Michel, C.J.)

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