The Court of International Trade on Sept. 30 granted a pair of voluntary dismissal motions from importer Travelway Group International on its two import classification cases. Both cases sought Section 301 exclusions for its backpack and bag entries of Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings 4202.92.3120 and 4202.92.3131. Counsel for Travelway didn't immediately respond to request for comment (Travelway Group International v. United States, CIT #s 22-00313, 23-00057).
Court of International Trade
The United States Court of International Trade is a federal court which has national jurisdiction over civil actions regarding the customs and international trade laws of the United States. The Court was established under Article III of the Constitution by the Customs Courts Act of 1980. The Court consists of nine judges appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is located in New York City. The Court has jurisdiction throughout the United States and has exclusive jurisdictional authority to decide civil action pertaining to international trade against the United States or entities representing the United States.
The Court of International Trade on Sept. 27 granted exporter Zhejiang Jingli Bearing Technology Co.'s motion to sever and dismiss it from a lawsuit on the 2021-22 review of the antidumping duty order on tapered roller bearings from China. The suit will continue with plaintiffs Shanghai Tainai Bearing Co. and C&U Americas. The companies brought the case to allege that the Commerce Department unnecessarily applied partial adverse facts available and errantly conducted a pricing differential analysis (see 2403060080). Counsel for Zhejiang Jingli didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the reason for its voluntary dismissal (Zhejiang Jingli Bearing Technology Co. v. U.S., CIT # 24-00038).
Exporter Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari (Erdemir) on Sept. 30 defended its bid to consolidate its three appeals at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit regarding the sunset review of the antidumping duty order on hot-rolled steel flat products from Turkey. Erdemir said all three cases are "intertwined" since they are "based on the same triggering act" (Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 24-2242).
Importer 3BTech asked the Court of International Trade to award it attorney's fees in a tariff classification case associated with the company's efforts in resolving the issue of the government's untimely submission of expert declarations. 3BTech said the U.S. willfully violated its disclosure obligations and "blindsided both" the company and the court by not telling either about its plans to work on the declarations when it requested an extension to file its cross-motion for judgment (3BTech v. United States, CIT # 21-00026).
The Court of International Trade on Sept. 27 granted the government's motion for a voluntary remand in a case on the 2021-22 review of the antidumping duty order on mechanical tubing of carbon and alloy steel from Italy. The U.S. asked for the remand to reconsider the "single-entity treatment" of exporters Dalmine and Silcotub (see 2409260027). During the review, Commerce rejected submissions from the petitioners, led by ArcelorMittal Tubular Products, which contained five memos from the Commerce Department from recent cases in which the agency collapsed entities "under analogous facts." The U.S. asked for a remand to reconsider its rejections of these submissions and, by extension, the collapsing analysis (ArcelorMittal Tubular Products v. U.S., CIT # 24-00039).
Exporter Nagase & Co. will appeal its case on the first review of the antidumping duty order on glycine from Japan, according to its Sept. 27 notice of appeal at the Court of International Trade. In July, the court sustained the Commerce Department's decision to remove Nagase's compensation for payment expense from its general and administrative expense ratio and said that Nagase failed to exhaust its administrative remedies pertaining to its challenge to Commerce's assessment rate (see 2407300052). The exporter challenged the assessment rate at CIT, despite not raising the issue during the review, claiming that the remand proceeding at the trade court created a new decision for judicial review. The court rejected that claim (Nagase & Co. v. U.S., CiT # 21-00574).
Petitioners pushed back Sept. 26 against a Court of International Trade remand order (see 2405310043) that resulted in the Commerce Department lowering a Brazilian honey exporter’s antidumping duty resulting from an investigation from 83.72% to 10.52% (see 2408270029) (Apiario Diamante Comercial Exportadora v. United States, CIT # 22-00185).
The Court of International Trade on Sept. 26 ordered the Commerce Department to add exporter The Ancientree Cabinet Co.'s ministerial error allegation to the record of a suit on the 2021-22 review of the antidumping duty order on wooden cabinets and vanities from China. Judge Mark Barnett gave Commerce until Oct. 7 to add the allegation to the record (The Ancientree Cabinet Co. v. U.S., CIT # 23-00262).
Texas-based syringe importer Retractable Technologies took to the Court of International Trade to contest the 100% increase of Section 301 tariffs recently imposed on needles and syringes from China. The complaint is seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the duties, claiming that the tariffs could send the company out of business (Retractable Technologies v. United States, CIT # 24-00185).
Plaintiffs in a case regarding the antidumping and countervailing duty reviews on wood mouldings and millwork from China filed two briefs Sept. 25 with the Court of International Trade, again arguing that, one, one respondent’s trading company should have been entitled to the same separate rate as the respondent itself, and, two, that the Commerce Department illegitimately chose to end its review of another respondent early and instead use adverse facts available (China Cornici Co. Ltd. v. U.S., CIT #s 23-000216, -00217).