The Court of International Trade on May 8 remanded the Commerce Department's treatment of antidumping duty respondent Assan Aluminyum's raw material costs and its hedging practices due to the agency's failure to address the issues during the AD investigation on aluminum foil from Turkey. Judge Stephen Vaden said Commerce failed to address one of Assan's arguments regarding its raw material costs administratively. He also said the agency's post hoc rationalizations regarding the company's hedging revenues don't square with its treatment of the revenues during the investigation. The judge sustained Commerce's treatment of both Assan's late fees as part of a duty drawback adjustment and of management fees paid by Assan's affiliated U.S. reseller. The court also granted Commerce's voluntary remand request regarding the denominator of the duty drawback adjustment.
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The statute on deemed liquidation for drawback claims "doesn't make sense as written," Judge Jane Restani said during April 18 oral arguments at the Court of International Trade. She said that both importer Performance Additives and the government are "adding terms to the statutes that aren't there," but said she understands because "none of this can work if we just read the words that are there" (Performance Additives v. United States, CIT # 22-00044).
Parkdale and the government filed a joint motion April 11 requesting more time to consider whether the company could file its case challenging CBP’s denial of its mixed-use drawback claims before repaying the accelerated drawback it received (see 2205180046). The motion says Parkdale recently sent CBP a letter with the company’s position on “whether the re-payment of accelerated drawback constitutes a liquidated duty under 28 U.S.C. § 2637, and therefore required to be paid to the government before this action was commenced,” as planned in a previous extension motion in December (Parkdale America v. U.S., CIT # 22-00019).
The Court of International Trade on April 11 sent back the Commerce Department's duty drawback adjustment to exporter Assan Aluminyum, which led to a de minimis antidumping duty rate in the AD investigation on common alloy aluminum sheet from Turkey. Judge Gary Katzmann said it "appears that" Commerce's methodology "impermissibly increased Assan's export price by more than 'the amount of any import duties imposed by the country of exportation which have been rebated."
The Court of International Trade on April 11 remanded the Commerce Department's duty drawback calculation methodology for exporter Assan Aluminyum that led to a de minimis rate in an antidumping duty investigation on common alloy aluminum sheet from Turkey. Judge Gary Katzmann said Commerce incorrectly applied the drawback adjustment to all Assan's U.S. sales although only some contributed directly to the receipt of duty exemptions in Turkey during the investigation period. The judge also said Commerce failed to fully explain its decision by not addressing two claims from the AD petitioners, the Aluminum Association Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet Trade Enforcement Working Group.
The Court of International Trade on March 21 reassigned three cases to Judge Jane Restani.
Robert Stein, former executive at supply chain logistics firm Mohawk Global, has joined Braumiller Consulting Group as vice president, according to his LinkedIn announcement. Stein said he will be working on foreign-trade zone, duty drawback, import/export compliance, Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification, customs valuation and free trade agreement matters.
Tin-plated brass strips imported by Cooper Plating and then made into plumbing parts before being exported are eligible for temporary importation under bond under subheading 9813.00.05, CBP said in a recent ruling. However, while they undergo the required processing to qualify for TIB treatment, they are subject to the USMCA "lesser of duty rule" for similar reasons, CBP said.
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