A committee that advises the Court of International Trade is beginning a preliminary look into the possibility of a “small claims” customs court, according to several industry lawyers. The CIT Advisory Committee on Rules recently created a subcommittee to look into the feasibility of the idea, which could make it cheaper and quicker for importers to challenge some CBP classification decisions that currently don’t merit the time and money required for litigation.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Jan. 24 gave a green light to refunds of antidumping and countervailing duty cash deposits collected during the investigations on utility scale wind towers from China. The domestic Wind Tower Trade Coalition had appealed from the Court of International Trade, after the lower court denied an injunction preventing liquidation of wind towers from China entered between June 6, 2012, and Feb. 12, 2013. CAFC agreed with the lower court’s decision, finding the lawsuit unlikely to succeed, and refused to grant a preliminary injunction putting liquidation on hold.
The California Attorney General second draft of recommendations for complying with the state’s Do Not Track (DNT) law makes improvements over the first draft, but doesn’t address some central concerns, said lawyers and industry representatives in interviews Thursday. In effect since Jan. 1 (CD Jan 2 p4), the law requires websites and mobile applications to state in their privacy policies whether they respond to a DNT mechanism and include notice of “the possible presence of other parties conducting online tracking,” according to the draft. But with no agreed-upon DNT definition (CD Dec 27 p4), companies have struggled to understand exactly what they are responding to and how to explain that in their privacy policies, said lawyers and an e-commerce representative. The second draft -- emailed to stakeholders Wednesday night -- helps elucidate some of these concerns, but didn’t include legal protections some would like to see.
The California Attorney General second draft of recommendations for complying with the state’s Do Not Track (DNT) law makes improvements over the first draft, but doesn’t address some central concerns, said lawyers and industry representatives in interviews Thursday. In effect since Jan. 1 (WID Jan 2 p1), the law requires websites and mobile applications to state in their privacy policies whether they respond to a DNT mechanism and include notice of “the possible presence of other parties conducting online tracking,” according to the draft. But with no agreed-upon DNT definition (WID Dec 27 p1) , companies have struggled to understand exactly what they are responding to and how to explain that in their privacy policies, said lawyers and an e-commerce representative. The second draft -- emailed to stakeholders Wednesday night -- helps elucidate some of these concerns, but didn’t include legal protections some would like to see.
The Court of International Trade on Jan. 22 rejected arguments from both sides in a customs valuation dispute between the government and an importer of apparel purchased from a related party. CIT ruled against the government’s defense of CBP’s use of transaction value, because it didn’t meet CBP’s own requirement of proof that prices were set according to normal industry pricing behavior. But the court also spurned claims by importer Macclenny Products that the entries of men’s suit jackets from Nicaragua should have instead been appraised using deductive value, because the company didn’t show that the related-party transaction actually affected the price.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) again urged the Consumer Product Safety Commission to take a tough stance on products that violate federal flammability standards for children’s sleepwear, in a letter dated Jan. 6. According to the trade group, sleepwear that violates the CPSC standard continues to “flood the market, appearing in every retail channel.”
Tweets, Facebook posts and Google Plus comments have all become endorsement fodder for advertisers due to changes in social media companies’ terms of use. The change has raised privacy and copyright questions, lawyers, academics and privacy advocates told us. Most recently, the concerns were highlighted by a lawsuit against Facebook, the use of a movie critic’s tweet in an ad, and a change to Google’s policy. Companies and marketers contend the changes allow more targeted ads that benefit consumers.
NARUC’s Washington advocacy arm will eye all IP transition and broader FCC developments very closely, its new head told us. State regulators will also undoubtedly be watching what happens with any Communications Act update, a process that is largely welcomed, multiple commissioners told us, all stressing the need for a state role. Michigan Public Service Commission member Greg White was named chairman of the Washington Action Program group of commissioners last week and laid out plans for the group, which tracks all Capitol Hill and federal agency happenings in Washington for NARUC.
Barnes, Richardson & Colburn on Jan. 10 settled a legal malpractice suit brought by two domestic orange juice companies that alleged they lost over $1 million because of the law firm’s oversights. Southern Gardens and A. Duda & Sons had filed suit in the Florida Middle U.S. District Court in 2011, alleging Barnes Richardson lawyer Matthew McGrath failed to guide them through filing claims for funds under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act. Although no written retainer agreement existed between the firm and the two companies, they said Barnes Richardson’s representation in other areas, combined with past help in filing Byrd Certifications, effectively created an unwritten agreement on CDSOA claims. As a result of the confidential settlement, the district court dismissed the case.
Domestic solar panel manufacturer Solar World Industries America on Dec. 31 began a push to strengthen antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells from China, filing a petition for new AD/CV duties on modules made from third-country solar cells. Solar World says the AD/CV duty orders on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, issued in December 2012, leave a “loophole” that’s letting in an increasing amount of Chinese solar modules made from Taiwanese solar cells. The petition seeks to remedy that by imposing AD/CV duties on “crystalline solar photovoltaic products,” which specifically include third-country solar cells, from China and Taiwan.