U.S. steel companies "confuse" a case from Turkish exporter Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari (Erdemir) seeking reconsideration of an International Trade Commission negligibility decision due to new facts with an "attack on the original negligibility decision," Erdemir said. Filing a reply brief to the steel companies' motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction under Section 1581(i), the Court of International Trade's "residual jurisdiction," Erdemir said the true nature of its action challenges the ITC's "refusal to initiate a reconsideration proceeding to reconsider the neglibitily determination" of hot-rolled steel from Turkey "in light of the successful appeal of Colakoglu" (Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari v. U.S. International Trade Commission, CIT # 22-00349).
The Supreme Court of the U.S. on Oct. 2 denied a petition for writ of certiorari from importer Acquisition 362, doing business as Strategic Import Supply, regarding an opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit requiring protests to be filed within 180 days of liquidation. The appellate court rejected the claim that protests can be filed within 180 days of the date the Commerce Department issues antidumping and countervailing duty instructions to CBP (see 2302060029).
The Commerce Department failed to support its position in a countervailing duty case that the South Korean government gave up some revenue through the provision of its emissions trading program, the Court of International Trade ruled in a Sept. 29 opinion. Judge Mark Barnett wrote that while the Korean government may lose money by fully allocating emissions permits, it doesn't necessarily do so, given that companies that receive a standard allocation can obtain the permits through means that don't involve lining the government's pockets.
New Jersey jewelry company 21st Millennium and two individuals "who own or control the business," Iqbal Virani and Aqib Virani, admitted to evading customs duties on gold jewelry imports, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced. Per the terms of a settlement agreement, the company and the two owners also agreed to pay $1 million to the U.S. after admitting to evading over $400,000 in customs duties.
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Countervailing duty petitioner Rebar Trade Action Coalition's attempt to undermine the Commerce Department's remand decision finding that ship building company Nur Gemicilik ve Tic, an affiliate of respondent Kaptan Demir Celik Endustrisi ve Ticaret, is not a cross-owned input supplier "fall[s] short," the U.S. said (Kaptan Demir Celik Endustrisi ve Ticaret v. United States, CIT # 21-00565).
The Court of International Trade in a Sept. 28 order denied a motion to sever filed by exporters led by Salzgitter Mannesmann Grobblech. Judge Leo Gordon denied the motion without prejudice. The exporters asked to be severed from the joint case on the antidumping duty investigation on steel cut-to-length plate from Germany since its claims have been resolved by the court (see 2309270037). Salzgitter said its case has "no overlap" with the one brought by lead plaintiff AG der Dillinger Huttenwerke, noting that disposition of Dillinger's remaining claims will take a significant amount of time (AG der Dillinger Huttenwerke v. U.S., CIT Consol. # 17-00158).
Steel importer NLMK Pennsylvania opposed U.S. Steel Corporation's bid to file an amicus curiae brief in a case on the Commerce Department's refusal to grant the importer exclusion from Section 232 steel and aluminum duties, arguing that there is no role for an amicus at this stage of the case. Telling the court that U.S. Steel is "donning sheep's clothing" in "asking for permission to enter as an amicus," even though the parties "wish to settle their dispute," meaning there is no issue in controversy at play (NLMK Pennsylvania v. United States, CIT # 21-00507).
International trade law firm Cassidy Levy hired Amy DeArmond, former director of government affairs at Leggett & Platt, to serve as the director of government affairs at the firm, Cassidy Levy announced in an email. DeArmond's experience centers on proceedings in front of the Commerce Department, the International Trade Commission, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, CBP and DHS. The firm said she helped put together a coalition strategy to "secure passage of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015."
The European Commission appointed Miranda de Meijer of the Netherlands to be a new prosecutor in the European Public Prosecutor's Office. De Meijer is a former public prosecutor and criminal lawyer, most recently serving as a senior advocate-general at the Netherlands' Public Prosecution Service. Her term as a European prosecutor will run for six years beginning Nov. 1 and is nonrenewable. The European Public Prosecutor's Office investigates and prosecutes crimes pertaining to the EU's financial interests, including fraud, corruption and major cross-border value-added tax fraud.