Nearly 1,000 lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 21-27 (see 2009220029 and 2009220014). For a full list, see the PACER database.
Court of International Trade
The United States Court of International Trade is a federal court which has national jurisdiction over civil actions regarding the customs and international trade laws of the United States. The Court was established under Article III of the Constitution by the Customs Courts Act of 1980. The Court consists of nine judges appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is located in New York City. The Court has jurisdiction throughout the United States and has exclusive jurisdictional authority to decide civil action pertaining to international trade against the United States or entities representing the United States.
The Court of International Trade should use a case management approach for the numerous Section 301 tariff lawsuits similar to the one used for litigation over the harbor maintenance tax (HMT), the Department of Justice said in a Sept. 23 filing. That should include the selection of a “test case” and a stay of all other cases involved, DOJ said. The filing marks DOJ's first since HMTX Industries filed suit to force refunds of Section 301 tariffs paid on lists 3 and 4 goods from China (see 2009110005).
More than 2,000 lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 14-20 (see 2009220029). For a full list, see the PACER database.
The Court of International Trade is deluged with hundreds of lawsuits that closely model a challenge from Akin Gump and HMTX Industries that seeks to force refunds of Section 301 tariffs paid on lists 3 and 4 goods from China (see 2009110005). Such a torrent of filings is rare but not unheard of at the CIT, lawyers involved with and following the litigation said. The most obvious example was the yearslong litigation over the harbor maintenance tax (HMT), they said.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 7-13:
The Commerce Department will decrease the antidumping duty cash deposit rate in effect for an exporter of oil country tubular goods from South Korea (A-580-870), implementing a recent Court of International Trade decision that ordered Commerce to recalculate rates set in an administrative review completed in 2017 (see 1704140027 and 1707070018), it said in a notice released Sept. 8. As a result of its recalculation, the AD duty cash deposit rate for Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. will fall to 3.3% (from 16.26%). The new rate will apply to subject merchandise entered on or after Sept. 9, 2020.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 31 - Sept. 6:
The Court of International Trade on Sept. 2 declined to order the release of an importer’s entries that were detained by CBP on country of origin concerns, finding the uncertainty around its own contradictory line of cases on substantial transformation was a factor in denying the bid for a preliminary injunction.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 24-30:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Aug. 28 upheld several lower court rulings that found masonry anchors are not subject to antidumping duties on steel nails from China and Vietnam. Affirming three Court of International Trade decisions issued in 2018 (see 1805290053, 1809240016 and 1810020020), the appeals court held that anchors imported by OMG, Simpson Strong-Tie and Midwest Fastener do not function as nails, and so aren’t covered by the scope language in the AD duty orders.