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Blackmun, J., dissenting
time the tax accrued." Id., at 78. I do not think a good can be an export when it will be used in this country, for its designed purpose, before being shipped abroad. In Rich-field, the Court held that California could not impose its non-discriminatory sales tax on a shipment of oil that was being exported to New Zealand. The tax accrued upon the delivery of the oil to the purchaser, which was accomplished by pumping the oil into the hold of the vessel that would transport it overseas. The Richfield Court noted not only that no portion of the oil was "used or consumed in the United States," id., at 71, but also that "there was nothing equivocal in the transaction which created even a probability that the oil would be diverted to domestic use," id., at 83. With respect to the containers at issue in the present case, by contrast, it was entirely certain that after the time at which the tax accrued (viz., upon delivery of the empty containers to the lessee) they would be used in this country, to be loaded with goods for export. See Brief for Petitioner 7 ("[E]ach [leased] container initially was used to export American goods to foreign ports"). It could not be said, when the tax attached, that "the process of [their] exportation ha[d] started." Richfield, supra, at 82. Because I find that the containers at issue were not protected by the Import-Export Clause, I need not consider whether the Tennessee tax would satisfy the test set forth in Michelin Tire Corp. v. Wages, 423 U. S. 276 (1976).
For the reasons stated, I concur in the Court's conclusion that Tennessee's tax is not unconstitutional under the Foreign Commerce Clause or the Import-Export Clause.
Justice Blackmun, dissenting.
It is established "that a treaty should generally be 'construe[d] . . . liberally to give effect to the purpose which animates it' and that '[e]ven where a provision of a treaty fairly admits of two constructions, one restricting, the other enlarging, rights which may be claimed under it, the more
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