The Court of International Trade on Nov. 4 granted importer Camel Energy's motion to expedite its case against CBP's detention of two of its battery entries. Judge Claire Kelly, who was assigned to the case on Oct. 29, granted the motion to expedite and said that Camel Energy "may file a proposed briefing schedule" along with a "brief statement of reasons as to why this expedited timeframe is necessary" by Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. ET (Camel Energy v. United States, CIT # 25-00230).

Importer Topcon Positioning Systems on Nov. 3 told the Court of International Trade that its "laser levels" are "surveying instruments," properly classified under duty-free Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 9015.30.4000, which provides for "levels" used for "surveying." In a motion for summary judgment, Topcon also argued that its accessories are, "in turn," classified under duty-free subheading 9015.90.0030, which covers accessories of surveying instruments (Topcon Positioning Systems v. United States, CIT # 14-00189).

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas set sentencing for Jan. 8 in a case against a customs broker for conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Cardone referred the case for sentencing in an Oct. 24 order after accepting the guilty plea from the individual, Carlos Leopoldo Alvelais (USA v. Carlos Leopoldo Alvelais, W.D. Tex. # 3:25-02512).

President Donald Trump won't attend the oral arguments at the Supreme Court over the legality of his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to levy tariffs on countries around the world, he announced Nov. 2.

The U.S. agreed to stay the effective date of an import ban for swimming crab fisheries in Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka pending the National Marine Fisheries Service's reconsideration of the comparability findings for these fisheries (National Fisheries Institute v. United States, CIT # 25-00223).

The Trump administration filed its reply brief on Oct. 30 in the Supreme Court cases on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, addressing a host of arguments relating to the text of the IEEPA, all of the statute's requirements and the history of the measure (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, U.S. 24-1287).

CBP erroneously found that importer Superon Schweisstechnik's stainless steel round wires aren't coated in a "flux material" and thus misclassified three types of the wires, Superon argued in an Oct. 30 complaint filed at the Court of International Trade. The importer faulted CBP for using the "conventional test methods" on the wires' coating, "rather than the globally recognized specialized methods necessary for identifying" the type of coating on the wires (Superon Schweisstechnik India v. United States, CIT # 21-00570).

Mandi Rae Lumley, a member of the Yakama Native American tribe, filed suit against the imposition of tariffs against her, claiming any duties assessed against her violate the 1855 Yakama Treaty. Lumley, filing suit along with her company Tikkun Olam Holdings, said the Yakama Treaty lets members of the Yakama tribe "use any public highway to carry on free trade with any trading partner" (Mandi Rae Lumley v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, D.Or. # 3:25-02003).

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Oct. 13-19 and 20-26:

CBP unlawfully excluded two entries of Camel Energy's battery imports for being made with forced labor in China's Xinjiang province, Camel Energy argued in a complaint at the Court of International Trade. The importer said it's not on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, and the batteries in its entries weren't "mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part using forced labor in the" Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) (Camel Energy v. United States, CIT # 25-00230).