CBP wasn't required to make a scope referral to the Commerce Department in its antidumping duty evasion case against importer Vanguard Trading Co., since CBP properly exercised its authority in determining that Vanguard's products were under the scope of the relevant AD order, the Court of International Trade held in a decision made public May 27.
The Court of International Trade on May 27 entered default judgment against importer Rayson Global and its owner Doris Cheng in a customs penalty case after previously denying the government's bid for default judgment. In its second attempt to secure default judgment, the U.S. further defended its claim that the merchandise at issue is valued at nearly $3.4 million (United States v. Rayson Global, CIT # 23-00201).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on May 23 extended a stay in an antidumping duty case after the Court of International Trade settled a related lawsuit. Judge Timothy Dyk noted that the parties told the court that, if no party files an appeal in the related case, the present case before CAFC will be withdrawn. As a result, Dyk extended the stay and said the parties have until seven days after June 16 to tell the court how they plan to proceed (Bioparques de Occidente v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-2109).
Steel wire importer Deacero filed a motion for judgment May 19 saying the Commerce Department’s circumvention finding regarding its prestressed concrete steel wire (PC) strand, made under Section 781(a), represents a dangerous precedent that would let Commerce impose duties on all intermediate steel products and “endanger investment” in U.S. manufacturing (Deacero v. United States, CIT # 24-00212).
The U.S. filed another defense of tariff action taken under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act last week at the Court of International Trade, more fulsomely embracing the notion that the president needs tariff-setting authority under IEEPA to address a host of foreign policy issues. Opposing a group of 11 importers' motion for judgment against the reciprocal tariffs and IEEPA tariffs on China, the government argued that "the success of the Nation" in "navigating and addressing a range of extremely consequential threats" is "built off the dispatch and unitary nature of the executive, girded by necessary tools," including IEEPA tariffs (Princess Awesome v. CBP, CIT # 25-00078).
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on May 27 heard arguments concerning the government's motion to transfer a case challenging International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs to the Court of International Trade and two importers' bid for a preliminary injunction against the tariffs. Judge Rudolph Contreras asked the government about what remedy the court could impose should it find for the plaintiffs and about the merits of the importers' claim that IEEPA doesn't provide for tariffs (Learning Resources, Inc. v. Donald J. Trump, D. D.C. # 25-01248).
The Court of International Trade upheld CBP's finding that importer Vanguard Trading evaded the antidumping duty order on Chinese quartz countertops, in a decision made public May 27. Judge Timothy Reif held that CBP wasn't required to make a covered merchandise referral to the Commerce Department under the statute, since CBP determined under its own authority that Vanguard's goods were covered products. Reif also said CBP wasn't required to stay the evasion proceeding after Vanguard filed a formal scope inquiry, noting that such a position would let an importer unilaterally achieve a "pause" in an evasion proceeding by filing a separate scope request with Commerce -- a position that is "plainly contrary" to the evasion statute's "legislative history." Reif then concluded that the evasion determination wasn't arbitrary or capricious.
NetChoice filed a brief on Tuesday asking the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to side with a district court’s previous ruling and block the Utah attorney general from enforcing a law regulating social media and minors on First Amendment and privacy grounds.
The following lawsuit was filed recently at the Court of International Trade:
The U.S. filed a May 19 supplemental brief in a 2021 case involving dual-stenciled pipe from Thailand to address the case’s last “remaining contention” after the importer lost in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Blue Pipe Steel Center Co., Ltd. v. United States, CIT # 21-00081).