The Court of International Trade sustained the Commerce Department's final results in the administrative review of the countervailing duty order on aluminum extrusions from China in a May 10 decision. Issuing his second opinion in the case after the plaintiff-intervenors, all associated with Jangho Group, vied for a rehearing over their "alternative arguments," Judge Leo Gordon said that Commerce properly hit Jangho with adverse facts available over whether all aluminum extrusions suppliers are "authorities." Gordon also said that Commerce properly found that the provision of glass and aluminum extrusions below cost are specific subsidies.
The U.S. cannot demand Customs Passenger Processing Fee payments for trips for which customers have canceled their tickets and are issued refunds in the form of travel vouchers, Southwest Airlines argued in a May 6 complaint at the Court of International Trade. CBP's move to collect the fees violates the statute's plain terms, which lay out that CBP is entitled to this fee only when a passenger actually travels on a plane from outside the U.S. into the U.S., the complaint said (Southwest Airlines Co. v. U.S., CIT #22-00141).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The Committee Overseeing Action for Lumber International Trade Investigations or Negotiations should not be allowed to intervene in GreenFirst Forest Products' case contesting the Commerce Department's decision not to start a changed circumstances review, Greenfirst argued in an April 29 reply brief at the Court of International Trade. The intervention bid should be tossed since the committee ignores the action that is currently before the court and is arguing against a case that doesn't exist, the brief said (GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. v. United States, CIT #22-00097).
Three Chinese exporters -- Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Ind. Co., Shandong Dongyue Chemical Co. and Huantai Dongyue International Trade Co. -- filed a complaint on May 4 at the Court of International Trade to contest the antidumping duty investigation on pentafluoroethane (R-125) from China. The nine-count complaint airs out the exporters' issues with alleged ministerial errors committed in the investigation that led to a large 277.95% dumping margin for the exporters (Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Ind. Co. v. United States, CIT #22-00103).
The Court of International Trade didn't and couldn't take away the Commerce Department's statutory authority to use facts available over the content of countervailing duty review respondent Celik Halat's questionnaire response once the agency accepted it, three defendant-intervenors argued in a May 5 reply brief. Celik Halat's responses were deficient over its reported use of the General Investment Incentive Scheme (GIIS) Customs Duty Exemption Program, warranting partial adverse facts available, the brief said (Celik Halat ve Tel Sanayi v. U.S., CIT #21-00050).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on May 6 affirmed the Court of International Trade's ruling in a customs spat over tobacco wraps. Submitting an opinionless judgment order, Judges Timothy Dyk, Jimmie Reyna and Todd Hughes affirmed the trade court's decision to allow the results of a particular customs test into evidence used to weigh the tobacco wraps.
Section 232 national security tariffs are not remedial and are in fact ordinary customs duties, meaning they should be deducted from an antidumping duty respondent's U.S. price, the U.S. argued in a reply brief at the Court of International Trade. Responding to exporter Nippon Steel Corporation's arguments attempting to overturn the trade court's prior ruling on the issue in three other cases, DOJ argued that Section 232 duties are imposed to address imports that threaten national security and not to boost the economic welfare of U.S. industries, making them non-remedial (Nippon Steel Corporation v. United States, CIT #21-00533).
The U.S. urged the Court of International Trade to sustain the Commerce Department's remand results in an antidumping duty case accepting minutes-late submissions, given that no party filed comments opposing the remand. Submitting its May 5 comments at CIT, DOJ said Commerce fully followed court instructions in accepting the late submissions and reverting to partial adverse facts available rather than full AFA (Celik Halat ve Tel Sanayi v. U.S., CIT #21-00045).
Judge Mark Barnett, chief judge at the Court of International Trade, reassigned 14 customs cases from Judge Thomas Aquilino to Judge Timothy Stanceu, in a May 5 order. The cases were brought by importer Mast Industries and challenge the classification of ladies' knitted tops with a built-in shelf bra (see 2205020058) (Mast Industries v. United States, CIT #01-00859, #02-00198, #02-00199, #02-00200, #03-00428, #03-00714, #03-00879, #04-00274, #05-00025, #07-00112, #07-00159, #10-00053, #10-00227, #11-00024).