Importer Coulisse Distribution voluntarily dismissed its customs suit at the Court of International Trade on its DC (direct current) electric motors, filing a notice of dismissal Nov. 14. Coulisse filed the suit seeking an exclusion from Section 301 duties under Harmonized Tariff Schedule secondary subheading 9903.88.67. The motors were classified under subheading 8501.10.4060, dutiable at 4.4%, and secondary subheading 9903.88.01. Counsel for the importer didn't respond to our request for comment (Coulisse Distribution v. U.S., CIT # 23-00245).
Jacob Kopnick
Jacob Kopnick, Associate Editor, is a reporter for Trade Law Daily and its sister publications Export Compliance Daily and International Trade Today. He joined the Warren Communications News team in early 2021 covering a wide range of topics including trade-related court cases and export issues in Europe and Asia. Jacob's background is in trade policy, having spent time with both CSIS and USTR researching international trade and its complexities. Jacob is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Public Policy.
Solar Exporters, Importers Say Relief Sought in Suit on SE Asian Solar Cell Duty Pause 'Inequitable'
Solar exporters and importers, led by the American Clean Power Association, said a suit challenging the Commerce Department's duty pause on solar cells and modules from four Southeast Asian countries is "moot" due to a failure to identify an injury that would be redressable through the retroactive imposition of AD/CVD (Auxin Solar v. United States, CIT # 23-00274).
The Court of International Trade has jurisdiction over importer Retractable Technologies' suit against the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's 100% Section 301 rate hike on needles and syringes, given that the court has already acknowledged its ability to hear cases on agency action taken under presidential direction, Retractable said. Responding to the government's motion to dismiss the case Nov. 19, Retractable pointed to the trade court's recent decision in the case granting a preliminary injunction (PI) on the liquidation of the importer's entries subject to the duties (Retractable Technologies v. U.S., CIT # 24-00185).
The World Trade Organization's published agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's Nov. 25 meeting includes a request from the EU to suspend certain concessions to the U.S. due to its antidumping and countervailing duties on ripe olives from Spain.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will sit in North Carolina for part of its February session, the court announced. On Feb. 4, the court will sit at the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill. On Feb. 5, the court will sit at Duke University School of Law in Durham, and on Feb. 6, the court will sit at North Carolina Central University School of Law, Durham. The court said the effort is part of its "nationwide jurisdiction and statutory requirement" to provide "reasonable opportunities to citizens to appear before the court." The case list for each sitting hasn't been released.
The former CEO of 500.com, which now operates as crypto mining company BIT Mining Ltd., was charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by paying bribes to Japanese government officials, DOJ announced. In addition, BIT Mining agreed to settle DOJ and SEC investigations into its FCPA violations, entering into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with DOJ.
Chinese lidar company Hesai Technology filed an amended complaint in its suit against its designation as a Chinese military company after the Pentagon relisted the company (see 2410230018), arguing that the decision is "just as unsubstantiated and weak as the original one that they recently refused to defend" (Hesai Technology Co. v. Department of Defense, D.D.C. # 24-01381).
The Commerce Department "clearly considered" antidumping scope language highlighted by exporter Export Packers Co. in its challenge to the agency's inclusion of the company's garlic in the AD order on fresh garlic from China, petitioner Fresh Garlic Producers Association argued. Replying to Export Packers' motion for judgment on Nov. 19 at the Court of International Trade, the petitioner said the scope of the order explicitly covers the garlic at issue, which is separated into individual cloves and frozen (Export Packers Company Ltd. v. United States, CIT # 24-00061).
Antidumping duty petitioner Coalition of American Millwork Producers dismissed its case on the 2022-23 review of the AD duty order on wood moldings and millwork products from China. The petitioner filed a notice of dismissal at the Court of International Trade on Nov. 15 at the Court of International Trade. Counsel for the coalition didn't immediately respond to request for comment (Coalition of American Millwork Producers v. U.S., CIT # 24-00194).
Various companies that were originally excluded from an expedited countervailing duty review on Canadian softwood lumber asked the Court of International Trade to clarify that they're due refunds of CVD cash deposits (Committee Overseeing Action for Lumber International Trade Investigations or Negotiations v. United States, CIT # 19-00122).