The Court of International Trade earlier this month heard oral argument on whether a CBP protest denial effectively revoked a prior CBP protest decision by applying a different tariff classification to identical merchandise, and should have been subject to a notice-and-comment period (Under the Weather v. U.S., CIT # 21-00211).
China last week imposed sanctions against U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., for frequently making "remarks and actions that interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine China's sovereignty, security and development interests," China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry said it will impose an asset freeze and travel ban on McGovern.
Don Church of Texas pleaded guilty Aug. 1 to illegally importing protected Australian reptiles into the U.S. on behalf of a "fake zoo which he represented as legitimate," DOJ announced. Church entered 165 Australian reptiles, all covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, by giving U.S. and Australian authorities false information.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit last week affirmed the convictions of six companies for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, customs fraud and promotional money laundering. However, the court said the trial court failed to resolve the parties' dispute on the value of the companies' warehouses before finding that they "lacked the ability to pay" the over $1.8 billion judgment and "ordering a nominal payment schedule."
The Commerce Department on Aug. 2 said Vietnam will continue to be treated as a non-market economy in antidumping duty proceedings. Releasing the results of its review of the nation's market status, the agency said that despite "substantive reforms made over the past 20 years, the extensive government involvement in Vietnam’s economy distorts Vietnamese prices and costs," rendering them "unusable" for calculating the duties.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last week ordered importer Delta Uniforms and its owner, George Iloulian, to pay over $1.3 million for avoiding customs duties on medical uniforms, footwear and other apparel. Judge Paul Gardephe said they violated the False Claims Act and must pay triple the amount of the evaded duties and a $557,880 civil penalty.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of July 22-28:
The Court of International Trade on July 30 stayed Chinese printer cartridge exporter Ninestar Corp.'s lawsuit challenging its placement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List for four months or until the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force issues a final decision in the exporter's delisting request before the task force (Ninestar Corp. v. U.S., CIT # 23-00182).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week said that an entity can only violate the Plant Protection Act and Animal Health Protection Act for aiding, abetting, causing or inducing the illicit import of plant and animal products by knowingly taking part in the import process (Amazon Services v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, D.C. Cir. # 22-1052).
The Court of International Trade denied Seko Customs Brokerage's bids for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against its temporary suspension from the Entry Type 86 Test and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs. Judge Claire Kelly found Seko already received all the relief it sought when it was conditionally reinstated into the programs and told why it was originally suspended.