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 United States said Sept. 30 that an Indian aluminum exporter was trying to “artificially separate two similar industries” in its attempt to avoid being assessed a countervailing duty for the provision of coal for less-than-adequate remuneration (Hindalco Industries Limited v. U.S., CIT # 23-00260).
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 1 said court-led mediation in a suit from LE Commodities challenging 14 denied requests for exclusions from Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs resulted in a "settlement of all issues." Judge Leo Gordon led the mediation. Counsel for LE Commodities didn't respond to a request for comment on the nature of the settlement (LE Commodities v. United States, CIT # 22-00245).
An importer’s stainless steel sinks from China weren't incorrectly liquidated by CBP despite “express instructions” from Commerce, the U.S. said Oct. 1 in a cross-motion for summary judgment and in partial opposition to the importer’s own Sept. 5 motion for judgment. Rather, it said, the importer was misunderstanding a “straightforward issue” by mixing up components and value added (R.H. Peterson v. U.S., CIT # 20-00099).
After oral argument, the U.S. asked the Court of International Trade to supplement its motion to dismiss in a case involving seized weight loss dietary supplements, saying that it had found emails from CBP “responsive to the Court’s questions" (UniChem Enterprises v. United States, CIT # 24-00033).
After the Commerce Department once again refused in an administrative review to investigate an alleged countervailable subsidy provided by the South Korean government, the original investigation’s petitioner claimed the department’s results upon remand (see 2408160038) actually showed a reluctance on Commerce's part to investigate time of use electricity supply systems that can sustain themselves annually (Nucor Corp. v. U.S., CIT # 21-00182).
A number of plaintiffs in a large case opposing a scope inquiry and finding of circumvention for hardwood plywood raised Sept. 30 the new Loper Bright standard of deference. They said that the whole point of the now-defunct Chevron standard was to delegate authority to agencies in deference to agency expertise for technical issues; the U.S. can’t make the same argument now that that exact argument has been explicitly overturned, they said (Shelter Forest International Acquisition v. U.S., CIT Consol. # 23-00144).
The U.S. on Sept. 30 told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that the Court of International Trade erred in rejecting its efforts to redact parts of the trade court's decision sustaining an International Trade Commission injury determination. The government said CIT "abused its discretion" in publicly disclosing information marked by the commission as business confidential (CVB, Inc. v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 24-1504).
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).
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).