Vaden to Issue Decision on ITC's Treatment of Confidential Information Prior to Confirmation
Court of International Trade Judge Stephen Vaden earlier this month said he is working on two decisions to be issued simultaneously in a case on the International Trade Commission's affirmative injury determination on phosphate fertilizers. In a text-only order, the judge said one opinion will deal with the merits of the appeal, while the other will address the court's issue with the commission's treatment of confidential information (OCP v. U.S., CIT Consol. # 21-00219).
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Vaden previously summoned the parties for a hearing last year to discuss the ITC's confidential information policies, sharply questioning the commission's redaction policy (see 2404010066). The judge pressed the commission's policy of seemingly redacting information submitted by the companies participating in the review, when that same information could be found in publicly available sources, including the parties' own websites, press releases, media reports and public annual SEC reports.
The text-only order indicates that the judge intends to issue decisions in the matter prior to his confirmation process to serve as deputy secretary of agriculture under the new administration of President Donald Trump (see 2412230016). The judge didn't immediately respond to questions about how he intends to handle the remainder of his caseload.