The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on May 16 issued a temporary restraining order against two logistics companies, barring them from using the U.S. Postal Service to ship packages with counterfeit postage.
Letex Apparels, a Hong Kong trading company, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleging that CBP negligently seized or forfeited 26,016 of the company's imported garments valued at $460,743.36. The company argued that, in handling its merchandise, CBP failed to "exercise due care" in handling the goods and violated the company's Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable seizure, the Administrative Procedure Act and a federal rule of criminal procedure requiring the return of property held by the government that isn't needed for evidentiary purposes (Letex Apparels Co. v. United States, C.D. Cal. # 2:25-04462).
The Commerce Department improperly failed to respond to an antidumping duty petitioner's claim that a submission from AD review respondent Assan Aluminyum regarding its duty drawback adjustment didn't rebut, clarify or correct information submitted in the petitioner's rebuttal, the Court of International Trade held on May 21. Judge Gary Katzmann said Commerce can't pursue the goal of calculating an accurate dumping margin "without regard for procedural constraints."
Importer Detroit Axle on May 21 moved the Court of International Trade for a preliminary injunction and summary judgment against President Donald Trump's elimination of the de minimis exemption for Chinese goods and tariffs on Chinese products. In its motion, the importer argued that it's likely to succeed on the merits of its case, which outlines two bases for finding Trump's actions unlawful: that the president exceeded his statutory authority in ending de minimis for China, and that the agency actions implementing the order are arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (Axle of Dearborn, d/b/a Detroit Axle v. Dep't of Commerce, CIT # 25-00091).
Scott McBride, a former longtime official at the Commerce Department overseeing the administration of antidumping and countervailing duty laws, has joined The Bristol Group as counsel, the firm announced. McBride served at Commerce for over 25 years, most recently as associate deputy chief counsel for trade enforcement and compliance. He told us he stayed over the last few years to oversee the agency's major regulatory changes to its AD/CVD administration, which included the ability to address transnational subsidies (see 2505020067), then recently decided to take early retirement.
The following lawsuit was filed recently at the Court of International Trade:
The Court of International Trade sustained in part and remanded in part the Commerce Department's second remand results in a suit on the 2016-17 review of the antidumping duty order on passenger vehicle and light truck tires from China in a confidential May 21 order. Judge Mark Barnett sent back Commerce's selection of exporter Shandong Linglong Tyre as a mandatory respondent and the agency's decision to rescind Linglong's separate-rate status (YC Rubber Co. (North America) v. United States, CIT Consol. # 19-00069).
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on May 20 transferred a case challenging certain tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to the Court of International Trade. Judge T. Kent Wetherell largely rested his decision on Yoshida International v. U.S. -- the nearly 50-year-old decision sustaining President Richard Nixon's 10% duty surcharge imposed under the Trading With the Enemy Act, IEEPA's predecessor (Emily Ley Paper d/b/a Simplified v. Donald J. Trump, N.D. Fla. # 3:25-00464).
The Court of International Trade on May 21 held a second hearing in as many weeks on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The same three judges, Jane Restani, Gary Katzmann and Timothy Reif, pressed both the government and counsel for 12 U.S. states challenging all IEEPA tariff actions on whether the statute allows for tariff action, as well as whether the courts can review if the declared emergencies are "unusual and extraordinary" and the extent to which the case is guided by Yoshida International v. U.S. (The State of Oregon v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00077).
Russia opened a World Trade Organization dispute on May 19 against the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism, arguing that the mechanism violates various provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994. Russia's request for consultations also covered the EU's scheme for greenhouse gas emissions allowances trading within the EU.