The Customs and International Trade Bar Association filed an amicus curiae brief opposing the Court of International Trade’s refusal to redact an December 2023 opinion sustaining an affirmative injury finding regarding mattress imports (see 2312200070) (CVB v. United States, CIT # 21-00288) (CVB, Inc. v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 24-1504).
Court of International Trade activity
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 Court of International Trade on Oct. 8 sustained the Commerce Department's inclusion of importer Printing Textile's "Canvas Banner Matisse" under the scope of the antidumping duty order on artist canvas from China. Judge Timothy Stanceu held that Commerce's interpretation of one "ambiguous" sentence in the scope language wasn't "per se unreasonable" and that the agency didn't fail to consider or misapply the (k)(1) factors at issue. The judge added that the order's language wasn't constitutionally vague to the point where an importer of the canvas banner wouldn't reasonably expect its products not to be covered by the order.
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 7 set a 14-day deadline for the U.S. to file for a voluntary remand in an Enforce and Protect Act case originally brought by exporter Kingtom Aluminio. The parties in a recent joint status report told the court to lift the stay on the case and that the government intends to file a voluntary remand motion (Kingtom Aluminio v. United States, CIT Consol. #22-00072).
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).
An airplane parts importer's products are just pieces of fabric, not airplane parts, the U.S. said Oct. 4 in support of its own cross-motion for summary judgment in a classification case (Honeywell International Inc. v. U.S., CIT # 17-00256).
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 4 sent back the Commerce Department's decision in the 2020-21 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on light-walled rectangular pipe and tube from Mexico to include exporter Tecnicas de Fluidos' (TEFLU's) "further processed" products.
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 7 sent a customs classification dispute on truck steps to a bench trial after finding that the undisputed facts are insufficient for conducting a principal use analysis on whether the products are "side protective attachments." Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves held that while a Section 301 exclusion for "side protective attachments" is a principal use provision, and not a provision for an individual product, the court can't at this time properly assess the imports at issue under a principal use framework.
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 7 denied importer Interglobal Forest's application for attorney's fees in a case that saw CBP reverse its finding that various importers, including Interglobal, evaded the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on hardwood plywood from China. Judge Mark Barnett said Interglobal wasn't the "prevailing party" in the case because CBP reversed its evasion finding after the Commerce Department altered its scope determination following a separate case at CIT. The judge added that because CBP is mandated to rely on other agencies' determinations, the agency's position was "substantially justified."