The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security again rejected 193 requests for exclusions from Section 232 steel and aluminum duties sought by importer California Steel Industries on its steel slab imports. Filing its remand results to the Court of International Trade on Feb. 9, BIS said that "no overriding national security concerns require that" the exclusions be granted (California Steel Industries v. United States, CIT # 21-00015).
World Trade Organization members engaging in e-commerce negotiations carried out the first review of text on the topic during Jan. 29 to Feb. 2 talks, the WTO announced. Australia's James Baxter, chair of the 2024 plenary meetings, said that the progress achieved at the negotiations shows that an agreement can be completed "in the next few months."
DOJ this week announced charges involving two illegal technology transfer schemes, which were meant to benefit the Chinese and Iranian governments.
The following lawsuit was recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The Commerce Department continued to give Indian exporter Bharat Forge Limited a 0% dumping rate after conducting on-site verification for the first time on remand. Submitting its remand results to the Court of International Trade on Feb. 7, Commerce said the on-site verification led to a host of revisions to the agency's margin calculations, though the end result was ultimately the same for the company (Ellwood City Forge Co. v. United States, CIT # 21-00007).
The U.S. told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to "refuse to reopen" the issue of exporter Double Coin's eligibility for a separate antidumping duty rate in a suit returned to the appellate court after the company failed to raise the issue on its first visit to the Federal Circuit (China Manufacturers Alliance v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-2391).
U.S. priorities during the World Trade Organization's upcoming 13th Ministerial Conference should center on extending the moratorium on e-commerce duties and advancing the second wave of talks on curbing harmful fisheries subsidies, witnesses said at a Feb. 7 hearing of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade.
The U.S. Judicial Conference's Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability in a Feb. 7 decision denied U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's request for a review of the appellate court's decision to suspend her from hearing cases for a year, sustaining the sanction.
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
British financial giant Standard Chartered Bank waived its right to respond to a petition for writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court in a False Claims Act case brought by whistleblower Brutus Trading. Standard Chartered said it doesn't intend to file a response unless prompted by the court (Brutus Trading v. Standard Chartered, Sup. Ct. # 23-813).