Xerox manufactured parts for copy machines in the United States that were shipped to Mexico for assembly. The copiers were designed for sale exclusively in Latin America. All printing on the machines was in Spanish or Portuguese. The copiers operated on a 50-cycle electric current unavailable in the United States. The copiers had been transported by a customs bonded warehouse in Houston, Texas, where they were stored pending their sale to Xerox affiliates in Latin America. The copiers had previously been stored in Panama. Under federal law, goods stored in a customs bonded warehouse are under the supervision of the U.S. Customs Service. Goods may be brought into a warehouse without the payment of import duties and stored for up to 5 years. At any time they may
be re-exported duty-free or withdrawn for domestic sale upon the payment of the duty. Harris County and the city of Houston assessed a nondiscriminatory ad valorem personal property tax on the copiers. Xerox claimed that the local tax is preempted by the federal legislation. What did the Court decide? Would it have made any difference whether the goods were needed for domestic use or intended for re-export? See Xerox Corporation v. County of Harris, Texas, 459 U.S. 145 (1982).