Recent Court Cases on International Trade for May 7 - May 20
The following Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Court of International Trade cases on international trade issues were dated/decided during May 7 - 20, 2008:
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CIT Denies Rehearing on Revoked CHB License
Sherri N. Boynton, whose Customs Broker's license was revoked, went before the CIT to request a rehearing based on state court judgments in her favor against several importers. The CIT ruled that these judgments are not relevant, as they concern payments between Boynton and the importers involved, rather than what the CIT had ruled on - Boynton's failure to follow proper procedure (in Customs Bulletin 88-30) when payments are not made. (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/30/08 news, 08013045, for previous CIT ruling on this case.)
CIT Rules on 100% Duties on EC Toasted Breads
This case concerns an importer's complaint that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has no legal authority to collect the 100% duties (HTS 9903.02) assessed on imports of toasted breads from Spain, arguing that the "retaliation list" established by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for the imposition of the 100% duties on certain imports from the European Community expired by operation of law on July 29, 2007. The CIT denied the importer's motion for class certification, denied the U.S.' motion to dismiss, and ordered the U.S. government to file an answer to the allegations set forth in the plaintiff's complaint.
CIT Denies TRO and Injunction on Entries of White Sauce
The importer sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to force CBP to put 98 entries of white sauce (also termed dairy spread) into "suspended liquidation status" during the pendency of the case. As CBP's administrative process for all but one entry had not run its course, the CIT denied the importer's requests. However, the CIT noted that CBP has indicated that it took actions on its own that will likely result in its suspension of the protest process for 84 of the entries until a final decision is reached in this case.
CIT Boynton case (Sherri N. Boynton v. U.S., Slip-Op 08-49, decided 05/07/08) available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/Slip_op08/08-49.pdf
CIT toasted bread case (Gilda Industries vs. U.S., Slip Op. 08-51, dated 05/14/08) available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/Slip_op08/08-51.pdf
CIT white sauce case (International Custom Products, Inc. v. U.S., Slip Op. 08-53, dated 05/20/08) available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/Slip_op08/08-53.pdf