The Court of International Trade in a May 17 order granted a stay requested by the plaintiffs in an antidumping duty scope dispute, led by Chinese exporter Zhejiang Yuhua Timber Co. but contested by the U.S. As such, consideration of the U.S.'s motion to dimsiss and all other proceedings will be stayed until 21 days after the Commerce Department issues its final decision in the changed circumstances review over the AD investigation on multilayered wood flooring from China, the court said (Zhejiang Yuhua Timber Co. v. United States, CIT #21-00502).
State telecom industry groups seek to stop LTD Broadband from receiving promised Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) funding in Minnesota and South Dakota. The efforts to deny eligible telecom carrier (ETC) status to the company are the latest in a growing number of state hurdles LTD faces as it tries to secure funding it preliminarily won from FCC auction. Some said the situation shows state ETC designation review’s value, but former Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said the process isn’t working.
Trade Law Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of May 9-15:
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Australian steel exporter BlueScope Steel, along with its affiliates Australian Iron & Steel and BlueScope Steel Americas, voiced their support for the Commerce Department's remand results in an antidumping duty case at the Court of International Trade. Filing comments at CIT on May 16, BlueScope backed Commerce's position which slashed the antidumping duties for BlueScope from 99.20% to 4.95% after dropping its reliance on adverse facts available based on BlueScope's U.S. sales quantity and value reporting data (BlueScope Steel Ltd. v. United States, CIT #19-00057).
Section 232 national security tariffs are not remedial and should not be deducted from an antidumping duty respondent's U.S. price, and their inclusion in that price does not constitute double counting of duties, AD petitioner Nucor Corp. argued in a May 13 reply brief that came in response to arguments to the contrary from Nippon Steel Corp. (Nippon Steel Corporation v. U.S., CIT #21-00533).
Shrimp exporters Minh Phu Seafood Joint Stock Co.'s and MSeafood Corp.'s surprise at the U.S. government's concession at oral argument that it did not review the entire record in an antidumping duty and countervailing duty evasion case does not stand as proper grounds for supplemental briefing, plaintiff Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Enforcement Committee (AHSTEC) argued. Submitting a May 13 reply brief at the Court of International Trade, the U.S. producers group argued that the supplemental briefing motion represents a bid to revisit the arguments presented in the case and should be rejected as such.
The Court of International Trade issued a May 17 opinion addressing two cases brought by Voestalpine USA and Bilstein Cold Rolled Steel, the importer and purchaser of entries subject to Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, respectively. The cases both concern reliquidation requests on various steel entries without the Section 232 duties, based on the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security's approval of exclusion requests. The exclusions each originally contained an invalid Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading, but by the time the error was discovered in both cases, CBP had liquidated the entries with the duties.
The International Trade Commission is seeking written submissions that address issues of remedy, bonding and the public interest in a case concerning imported batteries for cordless power tools. The request follows the commission's May 11 decision to review part of a March 25 initial determination by Administrative Law Judge MaryJoan McNamara, according to the May 17 notice (ITC Inv. No 337-TA-1244). Written submissions and proposed remedial orders must be filed by close of business on May 25 and reply submissions no later than close of business on June 1.