Trade Law Daily is a Warren News publication.

CIT Denies Motion to Dismiss Weight Loss Supplement Case, Rules CBP Makes Detention Decisions

The Court of International Trade on Tuesday denied a U.S. motion to dismiss a case brought by importer UniChem, finding the court has jurisdiction over all litigation resulting from denied protests of detentions of imports upon entry. UniChem claimed that…

Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article

Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.

CBP seized its entry of weight loss supplements and wrongfully held it for over a year -- long past the maximum 30-day seizure authorized by statute. The U.S. unsuccessfully sought to dismiss the claim, arguing the trade court lacks jurisdiction because the Drug Enforcement Agency, not CBP, made the detention decision. CIT Judge Timothy Reif held that CBP makes all detention decisions under U.S. trade law (UniChem Enterprises v. U.S., CIT # 24-00033).