Importer Eteros Technologies asked the Court of International Trade for an expedited briefing schedule in its suit alleging that CBP retaliated against the company's executives after the company received a favorable ruling at the Court of International Trade (see 2501300018). Eteros said a speedy resolution of the case is needed "to resolve the legal uncertainties created by CBP’s defiance of this Court’s Article III powers and the reach of its national jurisdiction" and its "prior judgments and orders" (Eteros Technologies USA v. United States, CIT # 25-00036).
After President Donald Trump announced his sweeping tariff action on China under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as well as now-delayed IEEPA tariffs on Mexico and Canada, trade lawyers told us to expect the duties to be challenged in court. Matt Nicely, lead counsel in the ongoing case against tariffs imposed on China during Trump's first administration, said in an email that a legal challenge is coming, a sentiment echoed across the trade bar.
No lawsuits have been filed recently at the Court of International Trade.
Countervailing duty petitioner Nucor Corp. will appeal a Court of International Trade case on whether the Commerce Department can countervail three debt-to-equity infusions made to exporter KG Dongbu Steel Co. in the 2019 CVD review on corrosion-resistant steel products from South Korea. In the case, Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves said Commerce couldn't countervail the D/E swaps after previously refusing to do so in the prior CVD reviews, without finding a mistake of fact or analysis (see 2407030073). The judge then upheld the agency's decision not to countervail the restructurings on remand, finding that the evidence didn't support finding that the South Korean government pressured non-governmental institutions to take part in debt restructuring (see 2501170044) (KG Dongbu Steel Co. v. United States, CIT # 22-00047).
CBP agreed to return the liquidation status of 830 softwood lumber entries of importer Fraserview Remanufacturing to unliquidated while it awaits further instructions from the Commerce Department on how to treat the entries following the relevant antidumping duty and countervailing duty proceedings. The U.S. and Fraserview filed a stipulation for entry of judgment at the Court of International Trade in the importer's case against CBP's erroneous designation of the entries as deemed liquidated (Fraserview Remanufacturing v. United States, CIT # 23-00063).
The government "mostly dodges" the arguments customs broker license exam taker Skeeter-Jo Stoute-Francois makes against four questions on the exam and "baselessly and repeatedly accuses" her of rewriting the challenged questions, counsel for Stoute-Francois argued in a reply brief at the Court of International Trade. The brief said the U.S. "advances a series of impermissible post hoc justifications, misconstrues the applicable standard of review, fails to address several of Plaintiff’s arguments, and improperly relies" on past CIT cases (Skeeter-Jo Stoute-Francois v. Janet Yellen, CIT # 24-00046).
The Pentagon's response to Chinese lidar company Hesai Technology's claims against its designation as a Chinese military company shows that the department "has no evidence" and "made no finding" that the company is "in any way connected to the Chinese military," Hesai said in a brief at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Hesai Technology Co. v. United States, D.D.C. # 24-01381).
CBP reversed its finding that importer Scioto Valley Woodworking didn't evade the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on wooden cabinets and vanities from China, on remand at the Court of International Trade, finding that the evidence indicates the importer skirted the orders. CBP said that the contents of a "finished goods warehouse" owned by Alno Industry, Scioto's affiliated Malaysian supplier, and the "extent of operational control exercised by Scioto's and Alno's parent company," Qingdao Haiyan Group Co., prompted the reversal (American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance v. United States, CIT # 23-00140).
The following new lawsuits have been filed recently at the Court of International Trade:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its mandate on Jan. 30 in a case on the 2016-17 review of the antidumping duty order on solar cells from China. In its decision, CAFC said the Commerce Department failed to provide an "adequate explanation" regarding its treatment of overhead costs in coming up with the surrogate financial ratio (see 2412090028) (Risen Energy Co. v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-1550).