The U.S. on May 3 defended its claim that anti-forced labor nonprofit International Rights Advocates doesn't have standing to sue CBP over its inaction in responding to a petition alleging cocoa from Cote d'Ivoire is made with forced child labor. Filing a brief in support of its motion to dismiss the suit, the government argued that IRAdvocates can't show injury-in-fact from CBP's purported inaction, and that the Court of International Trade can't compel discretionary law enforcement action in the form of a withhold release order (International Rights Advocates v. Alejandro Mayorkas, CIT # 23-00165).
A Spanish olive growers industry group, Asociacion de Exportadores e Industriales de Aceitunas de Mesa, along with Agro Sevilla Aceitunas and Angel Camacho Alimentacion, brought suit at the Court of International Trade to contest the Commerce Department's finding that demand for the "prior stage product" is "substantially dependent" on demand for the "latter stage product," in the 2021 review of the countervailing duty order on ripe olives from Spain (Asociacion de Exportadores e Industriales de Aceitunas de Mesa v. United States, CIT # 24-00078).
The Court of International Trade on May 1 and May 2 dismissed two lawsuits -- one at the behest of the plaintiff, Vinh Hoan Corp., the other for lack of prosecution. Vinh Hoan contested the Commerce Department's final results in the 2021-22 review of the antidumping duty order on frozen fish fillets from Vietnam. Plaintiff's counsel Matthew McConkey said the voluntary dismissal was filed after later action from Commerce "demonstrated our issue of concern was moot, especially as our calculated rate was 0%." Importer van Gelder's suit challenging the classification of its floor covering (vinyl tiles) was dismissed because the suit wasn't removed prior to the expiration of the customs case management calendar's period of time of removal (Vinh Hoan Corp. v. U.S., CIT # 24-00077) (van Gelder v. U.S., CIT # 21-00160).
The presumption of foreign state control in antidumping duty cases doesn't disappear after the exporter presents "minimal contradictory evidence," the government said in a reply brief on May 1 at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Contrary to claims made by exporters Aeolus Tyre Co. and Guizhou Tyre Co., the government said, the Commerce Department "has long required respondents to demonstrate autonomy with respect to" all four criteria used to assess freedom from foreign state control, even for companies only minority-owned by a government entity (Guizhou Tyre Co. v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-2163).
World Trade Organization members taking part in the Committee on Rules of Origin's April 29 meeting discussed ways to improve the "functioning of the committee" and use digital tools to "facilitate the work of delegates," the WTO said. Members discussed various measures to improve the committee, which included revamping the "rules of origin gateway page on the WTO website" by adding a guide for new delegates on the committee's work and an events page.
The EU and Japan on May 2 wrapped up the fifth EU-Japan High Level Economic Dialogue, announcing an initiative to work more closely on sustainable supply chains, the European Commission said. The two countries noted the need for collaboration on "climate change, energy security, cyber security and stability of supply, based on jointly agreed principles." The dialogue also stressed the importance of making sure the World Trade Organization "is reformed."
DOJ on May 1 filed a forfeiture action against "a set of aircraft landing gear for a Boeing 737-800" CBP detained in Miami in September, the agency announced. The gear was bought to benefit a Kyrgyzstan-based transshipper of dual-use items "servicing" Russia, "in violation of U.S. economic sanctions."
The Commerce Department erred in finding that seafood seller Luscious Seafood didn't qualify as a "bona fide wholesaler of domestic like product" during the 2021-22 review of the antidumping duty order on frozen fish fillets from Vietnam, Luscious said in a May 1 complaint at the Court of International Trade (Luscious Seafood v. U.S., CIT # 24-00069).
The Court of International Trade on May 2 sustained the Commerce Department's recalculation of exporter Sahamitr Pressure Container's sales expenses in the 2019-20 review of the antidumping duty order on steel propane cylinders from Thailand. Judge M. Miller Baker said that Sahamitr failed to undermine Commerce's finding that the company's monthly-based calculation of its sales costs were distortive.
The Court of International Trade on May 2 again sent back the Commerce Department's finding that the South Korean government's full allotment of emissions permits under the Emissions Trading System of Korea (K-ETS) was de jure specific. Judge Mark Barnett said Commerce improperly used de facto specificity analysis factors, including data on who received the allotments, in assessing whether the additional permit allocations were specific as a matter of law.