Men's Glove Importer Can Challenge Tariff Rates

NEW YORK (CN) – A U.S. importer of men’s gloves can challenge the constitutionality of tariff rates, the Court of International Trade ruled.     Totes-Isotoner Corp. sued the United States, challenging the rates on the grounds of gender and age, because the taxes on men’s gloves differed from the taxes on other gloves.     The government moved to dismiss the suit due to lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim.     Judge Pogue ruled that Totes had the right to state a claim due to the potential loss of tariff money.      Pogue did not agree with Totes’ claims of gender discrimination, however.     “While classification of goods as ‘for’ men – or for other persons – may suggest discrimination, it does not ‘show’ it,” Pogue concluded.