CIT Requires Formal Notice Before Disclosing Confidential Info in Tariff Case

An importer’s request that CBP disclose business confidential information for use in a tariff classification lawsuit has been put on hold by the Court of International Trade. FDK America is asking for a court order to make CBP provide documents underlying a 2002 customs ruling requested by another company called Nortel. FDK says the 2002 ruling is directly related to its own challenge of a 2011 ruling on the tariff classification of optical isolators it imported from Sri Lanka. But Nortel has since gone bankrupt, and neither CBP nor FDK have been able get an answer from the now-defunct company on whether or not CBP can disclose the information. FDK said the technology revealed by the supporting documentation is so old that there’s no way its disclosure could hurt Nortel. It also said its attempts to date to get permission should suffice. But CIT wanted a more formal attempt before it gives away Nortel’s confidential information, and said it will wait for the result of a subpoena.