Importer AM Stone & Cabinets filed a pair of complaints at the Court of International Trade, arguing that its products were unlawfully found to have been made in China based on adverse facts available, despite the company's full cooperation and a lack of evidence showing that its products were made in China (AM Stone & Cabinets v. United States, CIT #s 24-00241, -00243).
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) said comparability findings are coming by Sept. 1, 2025, for "all harvesting nations that did not submit an application for a comparability finding" and all harvesting nations the NMFS has already preliminarily said will be denied a comparability finding. The announcement came as part of a settlement of a lawsuit from three wildlife advocacy groups against the NMFS's failure to ban fish or fish products exported from fisheries that don't meet U.S. bycatch standards under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (Natural Resources Defense Council v. Gina Raimondo, CIT # 24-00148).
Former International Trade Commissioner chair and current commissioner Rhonda Schmidtlein will join WilmerHale as a partner in the international trade, investment and market access practice group, the firm announced. The ITC, in a concurrent press release, said the commissioner will step down Feb. 1. Schmidtlein was confirmed to the ITC in 2014, previously serving as chair for 17 months in 2017-18.
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The International Trade Commission "largely ignored" data trends in finding there to be significant price effects and an adverse impact caused by shipments of aluminum lithographic printing plates from China and Japan, exporter Fujifilm Corp. argued in a Jan. 15 complaint at the Court of International Trade. The company also challenged the commission's decision to include its affiliate, Fujifilm-Greenwood, in the domestic industry and finding of significant adverse volume effects (Fujifilm North America Corp. v. United States, CIT # 24-00251).
The Commerce Department defended its finding that currency undervaluation in Vietnam is specific to the traded goods sector, submitting remand results to the Court of International Trade on Jan. 15. The agency addressed various points the trade court sent back for further explanation, including Commerce's statutory authority for its specificity finding and the information the agency found missing from the record as its basis for using facts available (Kumho Tire (Vietnam) Co. v. United States, CIT Consol. # 21-00397).
The Court of International Trade on Jan. 16 said the Korean government's full allotment of carbon emissions credits to exporter Hyundai Steel Co. is de jure specific. Judge M. Miller Baker issued a decision in a pair of cases on the issue, finding that the conditions for eligibility for the additional credits aren't neutral and are based on "the substantive character" of the company's "operations."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Jan. 16 denied exporter Koehler Oberkirch's petition for writ of mandamus, which sought to have the appellate court review the Court of International Trade's decision that the government could effect service on the company via its U.S. counsel. Judges Timothy Dyk, Tiffany Cunningham and Leonard Stark said Koehler failed to meet the "demanding standard" for granting mandamus relief (In Re Koehler Oberkirch, Fed. Cir. # 25-106).
Ryan Majerus, former acting assistant secretary for enforcement and compliance at the Commerce Department, has joined King & Spalding as a partner in the international trade practice, the firm announced. Majerus has held various positions in the U.S. government, including senior policy adviser for supply chains at the White House National Economic Council and assistant general counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade: