The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 30 granted exporter Saha Thai Steel Pipe Public Co.'s application for more time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari in an antidumping duty scope case. The high court sent the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit a letter notifying the court of the extension on Oct. 7 (Saha Thai Steel Pipe Public Co. v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 22-2181).
Court of Federal Appeals Trade activity
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said Oct. 10 that Canadian lumber exporter J.D. Irving was trying to avoid review by a binational panel by bringing its antidumping duty case to the Court of International Trade under 28 U.S.C. 1581(i) jurisdiction rather than 1581(c). It said that the “true nature” of the exporter’s action was opposition to an AD rate it received in 2019, not the Commerce Department’s subsequent instruction to CBP, as J.D. Irving didn’t participate in the 2020 review. It also said that a binational panel had the power to provide J.D. Irving relief, if warranted (J.D. Irving v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 23-1652).
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 7 denied importer Interglobal Forest's application for attorney's fees in its suit challenging CBP's affirmative finding of evasion of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on hardwood plywood from China. Judge Mark Barnett said that Interglobal wasn't a "prevailing party" in the action because the evasion determination was reversed without admitting to an agency error and only after the Commerce Department reversed its scope finding after separate legal action at the trade court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 8 said the Court of International Trade improperly rejected the Commerce Department's inclusion of door thresholds imported by Worldwide Door Components and Columbia Aluminum Products in the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China. Judges Sharon Prost, Richard Linn and Todd Hughes said Commerce adequately explained on remand that the door thresholds are subassemblies and thus not qualified for the finished merchandise exception.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 7 issued its mandate in a case on the 2015-16 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on steel nails from Taiwan (see 2408150020). In August, CAFC sustained the Commerce Department's use of adverse facts available against exporter Unicatch Industrial Co. for failing to submit adequate cost reconciliation information in the review. The court said Unicatch failed to act to the best of its ability in failing to correct the reconciliation information (Pro-Team Coil Nail Enterprise v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 22-2241).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 4 issued its mandate in a case on the president's ability to make trade-restrictive modifications to Section 201 safeguards. In August, the court partially reconsidered its initial decision finding that the president can make such adjustments (see 2408130019). The court conducted a de novo review of the applicable statute in its decision following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which said courts can't defer to agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes. The appellate court issued its mandate in the case after the Solar Energy Industries Association didn't appeal the matter to the Supreme Court (Solar Energy Industries Association v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 22-1392).
Plaintiffs in a case regarding the countervailability of three debt-to-equity swaps filed a brief Oct. 7 in support of the Commerce Department’s reluctant reversal on remand (see 2407030073). The department found those swaps weren't countervailable, because it hadn't countervailed them in three prior reviews either (KG Dongbu Steel Co. v. United States, CIT # 22-00047).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 8 found that the Court of International Trade erred in rejecting the Commerce Department's exclusion of door thresholds imported by Worldwide Door Components and Columbia Aluminum Products from the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China. Judges Sharon Prost, Richard Linn and Todd Hughes said that Commerce adequately found on remand at the trade court that the door thresholds are subassemblies, barring them from being considered under the finished merchandise exclusion from the orders.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a text-only Oct. 4 note told counsel in the massive Section 301 litigation to review the court's revised calendar for December 2024 through May 2025 to check for scheduling conflicts. The move indicates that the case won't be heard during the court's November sitting and will be heard during the first full week of December at the earliest. Matt Nicely, counsel for the plaintiffs, confirmed that the case won't be heard in November and is hopeful for a December oral argument, though he said a decision on the hearing date won't be known "for a couple weeks" (HMTX Industries v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-1891).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 3 stayed the briefing schedule in a trio of cases brought by exporter Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari (Erdemir) while it considers the company's motion to consolidate the three appeals. All three cases center on the sunset review of the antidumping duty order on hot-rolled steel flat products from Turkey (Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 24-2242).