U.S. solar cell company Auxin Solar and solar module designer Concept Clean Energy argued on July 22 that Section 318(a) of the Trade Act of 1930 didn't permit the Commerce Department to pause antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells and modules from four Southeast Asian countries found to be circumventing the AD/CVD orders on these products from China (Auxin Solar v. United States, CIT # 23-00274).
Iraq resumed its talks on accession to the World Trade Organization on July 18 following a 16-year break in the negotiating process. The WTO said Iraq "reaffirmed its pledge to join" the world body, while noting its "significant economic and legislative reforms."
Madagascar told the World Trade Organization July 18 that it opened on that date a safeguard investigation on certain types of edible vegetable oils, the WTO announced. The island nation said interested parties "must make themselves known" to the country's investigating authority within 30 days of the opening of the investigation.
The World Trade Organization's published agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's July 26 meeting indicates China will request the establishment of a dispute settlement panel on the U.S. government's tax credits for electric vehicles under the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Supreme Court's recent decision eliminating the standard of deferring to federal agencies' interpretation of ambiguous statutes (see 2406280051) "will likely result in more litigation in the already heavily litigated world of international trade," two ArentFox Schiff partners said in a client alert.
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Canada-based Midwest-CBK's sales to U.S. customers weren't "for export" to the U.S. and therefore don't have a "transaction value" for the assignment of import duties, the company told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Filing a reply brief on July 19, Midwest-CBK said the goods should have been "appraised via deductive value" and that its goods were deemed liquidated since CBP didn't have an adequate basis to extend the liquidation of its entries (Midwest-CBK v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 24-1142).
The U.S. told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 19 that importer Nutricia North America's medical foods should be classified as "food preparations" and not "medicaments" (Nutricia North America v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 24-1436).
The facilitator of the negotiations on World Trade Organization dispute settlement reform, Mauritius' Usha Dwarka-Canabady, said that members have made progress on the "issue of accessibility" but that the topic of the appeals process "might take a bit more time," the WTO said. Reporting on the state of the negotiations on July 18, Dwarka-Canabady said talks must "accelerate."
Benin and Sierra Leone formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies July 19, bringing to 80 the number of countries that have accepted the deal. The WTO requires 30 more formal acceptances to reach the two-thirds of membership threshold needed for the agreement to be able to enter into force.