The rehearing motion from plaintiffs in an antidumping duty case, led by Ellwood City Forge, "appears to be little more than an impermissible attempt to relitigate an argument" already dispatched by the Court of International Trade, Judge Stephen Vaden held in a Nov. 8 opinion. Ellwood City sought reconsideration of the court's order tossing the challenge to the Commerce Department's failure to conduct on-site verification during an antidumping review, given that the plaintiffs failed to broach the topic administratively. Vaden said that Ellwood City misunderstood "the nexus between futility" and the requirement to exhaust administrative remedies.
A free public database launched Monday listing federal judges' financial disclosure and periodic transaction reports, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts announced. Judge Thomas Aquilino was the only member of the Court of International Trade to have a financial disclosure report in the database, with his covering calendar year 2021. At the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Judges Todd Hughes, Richard Linn, Haldane Mayer, Jimmie Reyna, Alan Lourie and Raymond Clevenger submitted financial disclosure reports for 2021. The database was developed by the AO and completed before the Nov. 9 deadline set by the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act.
CBP did not do what it told the Court of International Trade it was going to do on remand in an Enforce and Protect Act case, plaintiffs Ikadan System USA and Weihai Gaosai Metal Product Co. argued in Nov. 4 comments on CBP's remand. The agency told the court it would consider the Commerce Department's scope ruling, which found that Ikadan and Gaosai's imports are within the scope of the relevant antidumping and countervailing duty orders, and clarify its decision to ensure the court is given a thorough analysis of the relevant law and evidence. Instead, CBP failed to address any of the plaintiffs' arguments on remand, the brief said (Ikadan System USA v. United States, CIT #21-00592).
The Court of International Trade in a Nov. 8 opinion denied a motion for judgment from plaintiffs, led by Ellwood City Forge Co., in a case challenging the Commerce Department's antidumping duty investigation into forged steel fluid end blocks from Germany. The plaintiffs challenged Commerce's decision to use verification in lieu of on-site verification. Judge Stephen Vaden ruled that Ellwood City failed to exhaust its administrative remedies over this challenge, thus denying Ellwood City's motion.
Arguments from plaintiffs in the massive Section 301 litigation against the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's remand submission at the Court of International Trade lack merit and reveal a "misunderstanding of judicial remands," the U.S. argued in a Nov. 4 brief defending the remand results. The plaintiffs said that USTR cannot take another look at the record to defend its tariff action under Section 301 from public comments and can only "parrot existing statements" on the record. The government said that this view is not compatible with a key Supreme Court precedent, and that under this interpretation, no agency would be able to stand by its decision in fixing a failure to respond to public comments (In Re Section 301 Cases, CIT #21-00052).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The Court of International Trade dismissed four tariff classification cases brought by importer Continental Automotive Systems, in a Nov. 3 order. The actions concerned the classification of nitrous oxide sensors or exhaust sensors. CBP classified the merchandise under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 9027.10.20 (1.2% in 2016, 0.8% in 2017). Continental said it instead should have been classified under subheading 9026.80.20, free of duty. Continental filed the stipulation of dismissal without explanation as to why the cases were tossed (Continental Automotive Systems v. United States, CIT #s 17-00106, 17-00263, 18-00096, 18-00237).
Plaintiff AA Metals cannot prove that its Chinese-origin aluminum coils are outside the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on common alloy aluminum sheet from China, petitioner Texarkana Aluminum argued in a Nov. 3 reply brief at the Court of International Trade in an Enforce and Protect Act case. The plaintiff "does not -- and cannot -- dispute" the finding that the physical dimensions of its product match the description laid out in the orders' scope, the brief said (AA Metals v. United States, CIT #22-00051).
Antidumping duty petitioners' "notice of supplemental authority" in a case over whether Amsted Rail Co.'s former counsel violated ethical rules in an injury proceeding is neither supplemental nor an authority, plaintiffs in the matter, led by ARC, argued in a Nov. 3 reply brief. The supplemental authority, which included a declaration from Georgetown University Law Center ethics professor Michael Frisch and accused the plaintiffs of abusing the litigation system, could have been filed "contemporaneous with the [petitioner's] motion to vacate the temporary restraining order," and it is not an authority since "it is not a statute, regulation, or decisional law," the motion said (Amsted Rail v. ITC , CIT #22-00307).
Selective Cushioning Units (SCUs) are products of Mexico due to their complex assembly, not products of China subject to Section 301 duties, Strato argued in a Nov. 3 complaint to the Court of International Trade (Strato, Inc., v. U.S., CIT #22-00315).