A wide range of legal issues around CBP's new processes for antidumping or countervailing duty evasion allegations under the Enforce and Protect Act (see 1608190014) (EAPA) will require litigation to clarify, panelists said March 9 at the International Trade Update. For example, if CBP decides to impose higher bonding requirements on an alleged evader, can the importer then file for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction with the Court of International Trade to stop CBP, asked Jonathan Stoel, a lawyer with Hogan Lovells. Practical scenarios like that will need to be played out to give a better look at the possible strategies for lawyers involved, according to panelists at the event hosted by the Georgetown University Law Center.
The Aluminum Association filed a petition on March 8 with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum foil from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on aluminum foil that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties. "We did not come to this decision lightly, but felt that action was needed not only to address the acute challenge facing the foil market but also to signal the industry’s continued commitment to ensuring that trade laws are enforced to create a level playing field for domestic producers," said Heidi Brock, CEO of the association, in an email (here).
No new lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 27 - March 5, nor were any appeals of CIT decisions filed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit during that week.
Congress seems unlikely to provide dedicated funding for new ACE development in upcoming appropriations legislation, according to industry officials. Still, CBP may be able to funnel operations and maintenance resources to ACE development, said one industry observer. While the end to funding for new programming isn't unexpected (see 1609140034), the shift is closer to becoming a reality as the Senate and House aim to pass final Department of Homeland Security appropriations legislation by late April, industry and congressional officials said recently.
Critics of the FCC’s ISP privacy rules joined Monday to press for use of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to nullify the regulations. A spokesman for Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., told us the CRA resolution likely is coming this week as soon as Tuesday. “There is no gap; it’s not the Wild West,” said 21st Century Privacy Coalition General Counsel Howard Waltzman during a press call hosted by Tech Knowledge, disputing claims from Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and others that CRA use would create a regulatory void (see 1702270035). An aide to acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen also slammed the rule and said the trade commission would work with the FCC to prevent any gaps.
Critics of the FCC’s ISP privacy rules joined Monday to press for use of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to nullify the regulations. A spokesman for Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., told us the CRA resolution likely is coming this week as soon as Tuesday. “There is no gap; it’s not the Wild West,” said 21st Century Privacy Coalition General Counsel Howard Waltzman during a press call hosted by Tech Knowledge, disputing claims from Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and others that CRA use would create a regulatory void (see 1702270035). An aide to acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen also slammed the rule and said the trade commission would work with the FCC to prevent any gaps.
Critics of the FCC’s ISP privacy rules joined Monday to press for use of a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to nullify the regulations. A spokesman for Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., told us the CRA resolution likely is coming this week as soon as Tuesday. “There is no gap; it’s not the Wild West,” said 21st Century Privacy Coalition General Counsel Howard Waltzman during a press call hosted by Tech Knowledge, disputing claims from Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and others that CRA use would create a regulatory void (see 1702270035). An aide to acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen also slammed the rule and said the trade commission would work with the FCC to prevent any gaps.
U.S. trade remedies have been the “disproportionate focus” of World Trade Organization dispute panels, which are undermining the ability of the U.S. and other nations to effectively enforce their trade remedy laws, a report by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) states (here). The report, unveiled by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio (here), was released on March 1, the same day that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative submitted its annual report to Congress that extensively challenged the competency of the WTO dispute resolution process (see 1703010028). “The WTO has found at least one violation of WTO rules in over 90 percent of the trade remedy disputes it has ruled on to date – a remarkable record of violations given that the WTO rules were negotiated by the members themselves,” the AAM report says. “Since 1995, the WTO has issued 38 separate decisions against U.S. trade remedy measures, nearly five times the number of such decisions issued against any other member.”
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 20-26:
The Court of International Trade on Feb. 28 dismissed parts of an importer’s lawsuit challenging CBP’s tariff classification of its graduated compression hosiery, arm sleeves and gauntlets (here). While the classification of other models remains to be decided, CIT ruled importer Sigvaris cannot contest the classification of certain lines of compression hosiery and arm sleeves because they were not listed in supplements to the importer’s protests or were not listed in documents during the case’s discovery phase.