The U.S. declined to prosecute a criminal trade fraud case against global plastic resin distributor MGI International and its subsidiaries Global Plastics and Marco Polo International, DOJ announced on Dec. 18. The agency agreed to credit a $6.8 million payment made by MGI to settle a civil case against the company for knowingly failing to pay customs duties on plastic resin entries from China in its decision not to proceed with a criminal investigation for the same conduct.
Ceratizit USA, a North Carolina-based tungsten carbide distributor, agreed to pay $54.4 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by "knowingly and improperly failing to pay duties owed on tungsten carbide products" from China, DOJ announced.
Democrats said they are going to be bringing up the high cost of living over and over again, and tariffs are a big part of their argument that Republicans are not tackling the problem.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Dec. 1-7 and 8-14:
The Court of International Trade denied a group of importers' motion for a preliminary injunction against liquidation of their entries subject to tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on the basis that the trade court has the power to order reliquidation of the entries if the Supreme Court strikes down the IEEPA tariffs.
The Court of International Trade on Dec. 12 denied the government's motion for reconsideration of the trade court's previous decision to vacate CBP's finding that Dominican exporter Kingtom Aluminio made its aluminum extrusions with forced labor. Although Judge Timothy Reif said he made a mistake of fact in the initial decision, the mistake was a "harmless error," and that no mistake of law was made.
The U.S. on Dec. 11 filed its opposition to a motion for a preliminary injunction in dozens of cases filed by Crowell & Moring seeking refunds of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (AGS Company Automotive Solutions v. United States, CIT Consol. # 25-00255).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said it will impose a 10% Section 301 tariff on Nicaraguan imports beginning Jan. 1, 2027, but the tariffs won't apply to goods that qualify for the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). That tariff would be in addition to the 18% reciprocal tariff and most-favored nation rates, USTR said Dec. 10. The announcement says the Section 301 tariffs, which are intended to address human and labor rights abuses and the "dismantling of the rule of law," would increase to 15% on Jan. 1, 2028. "Further, should Nicaragua show a lack of progress in addressing these issues, this timeline and these rates may be modified," USTR said.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer signaled that the Trump administration is preparing a broad overhaul of key parts of the USMCA, focusing on changing non-automobile rules of origin to incentivize U.S. production.
As lawsuits seeking refunds of International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs at the Court of International Trade continue to mount, lawyers remain uncertain of the refund process that would be followed should the Supreme Court strike down the tariffs, including whether refunds will come via judicial or administrative pathways.