Nine different companies filed a total of 18 nearly identical complaints at the Court of International Trade on Jan. 13 contesting the Commerce Department's antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on aluminum extrusions from China. All the cases contest a part of Commerce's final scope decision in the proceedings, which found that the agency had the "legal authority to include within the scope of investigation, and did in fact include, 'inputs' to imported merchandise, as opposed to the actual imported merchandise itself" (Daikin Comfort Technologies Manufacturing v. United States, CIT #s 24-00250, -252).
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.
A World Trade Organization dispute panel on Jan. 10 delivered a mixed ruling in Indonesia's dispute against various measures imposed by the EU and its member states on palm oil and oil palm crop-based biofuels from Indonesia. The European Commission touted the ruling as a win, declaring in a press release that the panel "confirmed the overall WTO compatibility" of its "Renewable Energy Directive" legal framework.
An indictment was unsealed on Jan. 7 charging three Russian nationals for their role in a scheme to operate the "cryptocurrency mixing services" Blender.io and Sinbad.io, both of which have been sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, DOJ announced.
DOJ entered into a deal to send around $52.88 million in forfeited assets to Nigeria "in recognition of Nigeria's assistance" in an investigation into corruption in the Nigerian oil industry, DOJ announced.
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
CBP reversed its finding that importer Zinus evaded the antidumping duty order on wooden bedroom furniture from China on remand at the Court of International Trade. CBP made the decision after incorporating a scope ruling from the Commerce Department finding that seven models of metal and wood platform beds imported by Zinus aren't covered by the AD order (Zinus v. United States, CIT # 23-00272).
The Commerce Department engaged in a "fishing expedition" during the 2022 review of the countervailing duty order on phosphate fertilizer from Morocco, seeking information on potential subsidies "without a scintilla of evidence" indicating that any countervailable benefits existed, exporter OCP argued. Filing a complaint at the Court of International Trade on Jan. 13, OCP argued that Commerce went beyond its statutory authority and "should never have investigated potential subsidies based on information provided by OCP" (OCP v. United States, CIT # 24-00227).
International trade attorney Neil Helfand was elevated to partner at Grunfeld Desiderio, the firm announced. Helfand, a former CBP attorney in the Office of Regulations and Rulings, is based in New York and works on various customs issues, including country of origin determinations, tariff classification and detentions, and seizures.
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Jan. 3 dismissed a False Claims Act suit against Amazon, which alleged that the online retail giant conspired with Chinese manufacturers to avoid paying fees and tariffs on fur products. Judge Edgardo Ramos held that importer Henig Furs, the company that brought the suit on behalf of the U.S., failed to adequately allege that Amazon knowingly violated the FCA or was engaged in a conspiracy to violate the statute (United States, ex rel. Mike Henig v. Amazon.com, S.D.N.Y. # 19-05673).