Jacob Kopnick

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 26 - March 3:

Cleveland-Cliffs steel company and the United Steelworkers (USW) labor union criticized U.S. Steel for failing to participate in an injury proceeding before the International Trade Commission on tin mill products from eight countries, which ended without the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties (see 2402060063). Cleveland-Cliffs and USW said the decision will lead to "the continuation of widespread unfair trade practices in the tin mill products market."

World Trade Organization members at the body's 13th Ministerial Conference decided to extend the moratorium on e-commerce duties until MC14 or March 31, 2026, whichever comes first, the WTO announced at the conclusion of the ministerial. They also agreed to conduct "period reviews on the E-commerce Work Programme" with the goal of "presenting recommendations for action to the Ministerial Conference."

Josh Kagan, former assistant U.S. trade representative for labor affairs, has joined Kelley Drye as a special counsel in the international trade practice group, the firm announced. At USTR, Kagan worked on adopting and enforcing "internationally recognized labor rights," along with the "negotiation and implementation of labor provisions included in bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade agreements."

The Court of International Trade in a decision made public Feb. 29 rejected Chinese printer cartridge exporter Ninestar Corp.'s motion for a preliminary injunction against its designation on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. Judge Gary Katzmann said the company was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its claims and failed to show that it would suffer irreparable harm absent the injunction. He also said the balance of equities and public interest favored the government.

Marcus Nussbaum settled an attorney misconduct proceeding before the Federal Maritime Commission earlier this month, agreeing not to practice before the FMC for one year. If Nussbaum tries to practice before the commission before the one-year period or violates the settlement agreement, the FMC said it may "re-institute" the misconduct proceeding.

The Court of International Trade on Feb. 26 issued an amended decision in a customs case on the tariff classification of five categories of chrome-plated plastic automobile parts after initially deciding the case Dec. 18. The new decision adds a discussion of axle covers, the fifth category of goods, finding them to fall under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 8708 pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation 1.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 19-25:

Mohamed Daoud Ghacham, executive at California-based clothing wholesale company Ghacham Inc., was sentenced to 48 months in prison for undervaluing garment imports to avoid paying customs duties, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced Feb. 23. In addition, the Bell, California, resident will pay close to $6.4 million in restitution after pleading guilty in December 2022 to conspiracy to "pass false and fraudulent papers through a customhouse."

The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska on Feb. 8 approved a settlement between shipping companies Kloosterboer International Forwarding and Alaska Reefer Management and CBP and DOJ in the companies' suit against Jones Act penalties levied against them. The settlement's terms will see KIF and ARM pay $9.5 million, much less than the over $400 million sought by CBP for the Jones Act violations (Kloosterboer International Forwarding v. U.S., D. Alaska # 3:21-00198).