A July 13 oral argument related to Judge Pauline Newman's fitness to continue serving on the bench will be closed to the public, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit special committee ordered this week. In the June 20 order, the committee said that aside from an initial strong presumption of confidentiality in the proceeding, making the hearing public could jeopardize key information.
The following lawsuit was recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The Commerce Department continued to find that importer Valeo North America's T-series aluminum sheet falls under the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum sheet from China, in remand results submitted June 20 at the Court of International Trade. After Judge Mark Barnett sent back the decision for exceeding the limits of a (k)(1) analysis and so the agency could address evidence that Valeo's aluminum sheet undergoes heat treatment, Commerce said that Valeo's T-series sheet does not undergo solution heat-treatment and is subject to duties (Valeo North America v. United States, CIT # 21-00581).
Trade Court Lets Claim Proceed Against Expired NOAA Administrative Decision on New Zealand Fisheries
Certain claims from conservation groups Sea Shepherd New Zealand and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society may continue despite the fact that the administrative decision they are challenging has expired, the Court of International Trade ruled in a June 21 opinion. Judge Gary Katzmann said that an element of Sea Shepherd's challenge is capable of repetition from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and evading review, allowing a claim seeking declaratory relief to proceed. But because the decision expired, the judge said the prospect of injunctive relief was moot.
A dispute panel at the World Trade Organization ruled this week that China's antidumping duties on stainless steel products from Japan violated global trade commitments. The ruling held a mix of findings for and against Japan's claims, leading each side to claim some form of victory.
The following lawsuit was recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Italian pasta exporters La Molisana and Valdigrano di Flavio Pagani will appeal a Court of International Trade decision upholding the Commerce Department's 2018-19 review of the antidumping duty order on pasta from Italy. Per the notice of appeal, the exporters will take the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In the opinion, the trade court said Commerce permissibly refused to adjust its threshold for differentiating between types of pasta in its duty calculations (see 2304240035). La Molisana claimed Commerce's "breakpoint" of 12.5% protein content did not reflect the market reality, but Judge Richard Eaton held that the company's evidence was not applicable industrywide, making it "unreliable and insufficient" (La Molisana v. United States, CIT # 21-00291).
The Court of International Trade on June 20 upheld CBP's finding that importer Skyview Cabinet USA evaded the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on wooden cabinets and vanities from China. Judge Stephen Vaden said that, contrary to Skyview's claims, CBP adequately found that "contradictions, omissions, and inconsistencies" in the company's submissions were enough to find the data to not be credible and that the record backs the evasion findings against the firm.
The following lawsuit was recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its mandate on June 16 in a case on whether the Commerce Department has the statutory authority to conduct expedited countervailing duty reviews. The appellate court said the agency does have the authority under the Uruguay Round Agreement Act's enactment of certain provisions that favor individual company determinations and the URAA's grant of regulatory-implementation power to Commerce (see 2304250061) (Committee Overseeing Action for Lumber International Trade Investigations or Negotiations v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 22-1021).