The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 9 granted a joint stipulation of dismissal from the U.S. and exporters led by Risen Energy Co. on the 2017 review of the countervailing duty order on solar cells from China. The government appealed the Court of International Trade decision siding with Risen on the agency's land benchmark calculation and use of adverse facts available pertaining to China's Export Buyer's Credit Program (see 2312200026). Gregory Menegaz, counsel for Risen, said that the U.S. sought the dismissal, suggesting it was due to the "bad facts" for the U.S. in the review (Risen Energy Co. v. U.S., CIT Consol. # 20-03912).
The Court of International Trade will hold oral argument July 12 at 10 a.m. EDT in customs broker Seko Customs Brokerage's case against CBP's suspension of the company from participation in the Entry Type 86 pilot and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program. Judge Claire Kelly will hear argument on Seko's application for a temporary restraining order and motion for preliminary injunction (Seko Customs Brokerage v. U.S., CIT # 24-00097).
The Court of International Trade on July 10 kept the vast majority of the confidential record shielded from the public in Chinese printer cartridge exporter Ninestar Corp.'s suit against its placement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. Judge Gary Katzmann only ordered an eight-page stretch of the confidential record unsealed, given that it detailed the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force's "standard operating procedures."
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 9 dismissed the remaining claims U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman brought against three of her colleagues for their investigation into her fitness to continue serving on the bench (Hon. Pauline Newman v. Hon. Kimberly Moore, D.D.C. # 23-01334).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The Solar Energy Industries Association told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that the Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo scrapping the doctrine of Chevron deference to federal agencies should compel the appellate court to overturn the deferential standard established in Maple Leaf Fish Co. v. United States (see 2406280051) (Solar Energy Industries Association v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 22-1392).
Importer Performance Additives will appeal a May Court of International Trade decision finding that a duty drawback claim becomes deemed liquidated after one year if the underlying import entries are also liquidated and final, with finality defined as the end of the 180-day window in which to file a protest with CBP (see 2405310073). Judge Jane Restani said that as a result one of Performance Additives' drawback claims was deemed liquidated but another of its claims wasn't, since its entries weren't liquidated and final within one year of the claim being made. The importer will take the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Performance Additives v. United States, CIT # 22-00044).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 5 rejected an order by the Federal Maritime Commission that said ocean carrier Evergreen Shipping Agency (America) Corp.'s detention charges collected from trucking company TCW were "unjust and unreasonable." FMC failed to meaningfully respond to Evergreen's arguments, the court said, and the responses the commission did offer were "implausible" (Evergreen Shipping Agency (America) Corp. v. Federal Maritime Commission, D.C. Cir. # 23-1052).
The Court of International Trade sustained CBP's finding that Dominican exporter Kingtom Aluminio didn't evade antidumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China. In a June 13 decision made public July 8, Judge Richard Eaton said Kingtom responded to all U.S. requests for information during an Enforce and Protect Act investigation, precluding the use of adverse facts available. He also said the court can't ignore "the total lack of any record evidence of any imports by Kingtom into the Dominican Republic" of aluminum extrusions made in China.
The World Trade Organization released its latest Trade Monitoring Update July 8, showing that WTO members have introduced more trade-facilitating measures than trade-restricting ones on goods from mid-October to mid-May. The update also shows a "rapid increase in industrial policy subsidies," especially in areas related to climate change and national security, the WTO said.