DOJ is revising its corporate enforcement policy to encourage more voluntary disclosures, including by outlining a clearer path for self-reporting companies to avoid criminal prosecutions, the agency said. It’s also adding trade and sanctions to the list of “priority areas” for its whistleblower awards program.
The Court of International Trade on May 13 heard arguments in the lead case on the president's ability to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Judges Jane Restani, Gary Katzmann and Timothy Reif pressed counsel for the plaintiffs, the Liberty Justice Center's Jeffrey Schwab, and DOJ attorney Eric Hamilton on whether the court can review whether a declared emergency is "unusual and extraordinary," as well as the applicability of Yoshida International v. U.S., a key precedential decision on the issue, and whether the major questions doctrine applies and controls the case (V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, CIT # 25-00066).
Jerrob Duffy, former head of DOJ's litigation unit in the criminal fraud section, has joined Hogan Lovells as a partner in the investigations, white collar and fraud practice, the firm announced. Duffy joins from Squire Patton, and his practice includes sanctions violations, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act proceedings and the False Claims Act investigations, Hogan Lovells said.
Former senior DOJ official Matthew McKenzie has joined defense contractor RTX as director and counsel for global trade, he announced on LinkedIn. McKenzie left DOJ this month after working at the agency for 10 years, including stints as the acting deputy chief for export controls and sanctions and the national coordinator for the Disruptive Technology Strike Force.
The Institute for Policy Integrity, an economic law think tank housed at the NYU School of Law, filed an amicus brief in the lead case at the Court of International Trade on tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to discuss the "major questions" doctrine. The institute said the plaintiffs filing the case, represented by conservative legal advocacy group Liberty Justice Center, "do not fully state the doctrine or properly explain why it is triggered here" (V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, CIT # 25-00066).
Judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit pressed counsel for respondent Hyundai Steel Co. during May 9 oral argument on whether the company's collection of berthing fees from third parties on a port it built in South Korea can be considered countervailable subsidies. Judges Raymond Chen, Tiffany Cunningham and Kimberly Moore repeatedly asked whether Hyundai's case is precluded by the court's 1999 decision in AK Steel v. U.S. (Hyundai Steel Co. v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 24-1100).
Joyce Adetutu, a former partner at Baker Botts, has joined Vinson & Elkins as a partner in the export controls and economic sanctions practice, the firm announced. Adetutu's practice centers on export controls, trade, sanctions and tariff issues, including reviews conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the firm said.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The Commerce Department properly relied on respondent Shakti Forge Industries' reported costs in the antidumping duty investigation on forged steel fittings from India, the Court of International Trade held on May 6. Sustaining the investigation after two remands, Judge Stephen Vaden said Commerce permissibly found Shakti's costs to be accurate after conducting an in-person verification of the respondent's facilities during the second remand period.
Former senior Bureau of Industry and Security officials Matt Borman and Eileen Albanese have joined Akin, the firm announced this week. Borman -- who served more than two decades with BIS, including most recently as the principal deputy assistant secretary for export administration -- joins as a trade lawyer. Albanese, most recently the director of the BIS Office of National Security Controls, joins Akin as a regulatory adviser. Both Borman and Albanese left BIS earlier this year (see 2502240003).