The Commerce Department properly excluded various mattress models made by exporter PT Ecos Jaya Indonesia from the antidumping duty order on mattresses from Indonesia for being either "multifunctional furniture" or "mattress toppers," the Court of International Trade held on March 7. However, Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves said five models of PT Ecos' mattresses didn't clearly qualify for the mattress topper exclusion, since the evidence didn't sufficiently establish that they were used on top of mattresses.

The Court of International Trade affirmed March 7 the Commerce Department’s decision to not grant antidumping duty investigation respondent Gujarat Fluorochemicals a home market price offset.

The term “butt-weld” is ambiguous, and the Commerce Department was right to find steel branch outlets are covered by an antidumping duty order on butt-weld pipe fittings from China, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled March 6.

In Feb. 27 oral arguments, Court of International Trade Judge Timothy Reif grappled with whether the Commerce Department reasonably selected a broader, less-specific plywood price dataset over a smaller, more specific one. He also dealt with the department’s application of adverse facts available to multilayered wood flooring review respondents after a finding of government control based on the Chinese government’s “deficient” questionnaire responses (Baroque Timber Industries (Zhongshan) Co. v. United States, CIT # 23-00136).

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President Donald Trump will likely turn to Section 301 to enact his plans for "reciprocal" tariffs, various trade lawyers told Trade Law Daily. Following the president's announcement of his reciprocal tariff plan, which will purportedly tackle "non-reciprocal trading arrangements" with many of the U.S.'s trading partners starting April 2, speculation ensued as to the precise scope of the tariffs and their legal bases.

The United States sought Feb. 28 a rehearing of the Court of International Trade’s decision regarding the classification of precut chordal, radial and web fabric pieces used in airplane brakes. The products’ importer, Honeywell, would avoid duties if the ruling stands (Honeywell International Inc. v. U.S., CIT # 17-00256).

The Commerce Department placed an "undue emphasis on prefabrication" in a scope ruling on pencils in violation of its own regulations and case law, importer School Specialty said in a Feb. 27 brief at the Court of International Trade. Responding to claims from the U.S. and petitioner Dixon Ticonderoga Co., School Specialty said Commerce's "unreasonable fixation on 'prefabrication'" led the agency to "misjudge the true complexity and importance of the processing that occurs in the Philippines" (School Specialty v. United States, CIT # 24-00098).

The Commerce Department complied with the Court of International Trade's previous order telling the agency to accept a submission from antidumping duty respondent Grupo Simec that was previously rejected for being untimely, the trade court held on Feb. 28. Judge Stephen Vaden said the agency properly followed the court's instruction and reduced the 66.7% adverse facts available duty rate on Grupo Simec to zero percent.

Wooden cabinet importers referring to themselves as Cabinetworks Companies made a number of arguments Feb. 26 opposing a Commerce Department scope ruling, culminating in an attack on the department’s country-wide antidumping and countervailing duty determinations (ACProducts v. United States, CIT #s 24-00155, -00156).