The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated May 31 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
Gun sight inserts that use tritium for powerless illumination in low light conditions should be classified in Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 9022 as apparatus that use beta radiation, rather than in heading 9405 as non-electrical lamps, importer Trijicon said in a complaint filed May 31 at the Court of International Trade. Despite a ruling issued by CBP to the contrary, Trijicon said heading 9022 covers apparatus that use beta radiation regardless of end use, and that the use of beta radiation is more specific for tariff classification purposes and harder to satisfy than lamp (Trijicon Inc. v. United States, CIT # 22-00040).
Arguments from plaintiff-appellants in an antidumping duty case, led by Carbon Activated Tianjin Co., are merely a bid to have the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit impermissibly re-weigh the record evidence over surrogate value questions, defendant-appellees Calgon Carbon Corp. and Norbit Americas argued in a May 31 reply brief. Also filing its reply brief was DOJ, arguing that the Commerce Department properly picked Malaysia over Romania as the primary surrogate country (Carbon Activated Tianjin Co. Ltd. v. U.S., Fed. Cir. #22-1298).
Industrial diamonds from China further processed into superabbrasives in Romania should not be subject to additional Section 301 tariffs as products of China, Lieber & Solow, which does business as Lands Superabrasives, said in a complaint filed May 27 at the Court of International Trade. The companies argue that the industrial diamond crystals from China became objects of a different character, identity and use after processing in Romania and should be Romanian products for tariff purposes. Lands asked the court to find Romania as the correct country of origin and order CBP to reliquidate the merchandise with refunds of excess duties and interest (Lieber & Solow Ltd. d/b/a Lands Superabrasives, Co. v. United States, CIT # 21-00623).
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated May 25 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
Mixes of frozen fruits should be classified under heading 0811 as "fruit and nuts," rather than under heading 2106 as "food preparations," the government said in a cross-motion for summary judgement filed with the Court of International Trade on May 23 (Nature's Touch Frozen Foods (West) Inc. v. United States, CIT #20-00131).
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a mandate on May 23 in a classication case affirming a 35% duty rate for StarKist's tuna salad pouches in agreement with CBP's classification following its March 30 opinion that upheld a previous decision by the Court of International Trade (see 2203300033). StarKist challenged CBP's classification under subheading 1604.14.10, which provides for prepared or preserved fish, including tuna, whole or in pieces, "but not minced" and "in oil."
The Commerce Department must "find a practical solution" to verify information from countervailing duty respondents' U.S. customers that shows that they did not use China's Export Buyer's Credit Program, the Court of International Trade said in an opinion released May 20. Adding to a long line of CIT opinions striking down Commerce's use of adverse facts available over the EBCP, Judge Richard Eaton said that the agency can either find a solution to verify the non-use of the program on the record or recalculate the CVD rates for the two mandatory respondents, Dalian Meisen and Ancientree, without using the subsidy rate for the EBCP.