The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Sept. 9-15 and 16-22:
The World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body on Sept. 23 agreed to establish a dispute panel in China's challenge of certain U.S. tax credits for electric vehicles under the Inflation Reduction Act. Ahead of the Sept. 23 meeting of the DSB, China submitted a second request for a dispute settlement panel to assess whether the tax credits violate WTO rules.
International trade lawyer Mary Mikhaeel will leave Miller & Chevalier, where she has worked as a senior associate since January 2023, according to a notice at the Court of International Trade. The firm said Mikaheel will leave the firm effective Sept. 23. Mikhaeel told Trade Law Daily she will be joining Covington's business and human rights practice group. She has been at Miller & Chevalier since 2020, when she joined as an associate, moving from Fox Rothschild.
Three grape grower trade groups filed a complaint on Sept. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the Agriculture Department's notice allowing table grapes from Chile to be imported under a "systems approach" as opposed to using the standard fumigation requirements (California Table Grape Commission v. United States Department of Agriculture, D.D.C. # 24-02645).
The U.S. last week filed a civil complaint against Florida importer Repwire, along with its manager Jose Pigna and insurer American Alternative Corp., alleging that the company made false statements to customs officials when it imported aluminum wire, to avoid customs duties (see 2409110061). In an accompanying news release, DOJ alleged the importer misrepresented the wire's "classification code and country of origin" through gross negligence or negligence.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California on Sept. 13 dismissed a suit from three U.S.-based honey producers related to the alleged import of "fake" honey. Judge Daniel Calabretta held that the honey producers, led by Henry's Bullfrog Bees, failed to include sufficiently specific factual allegations to support their claims that the defendants -- honey importers and distributors -- engaged in fraud (Henry's Bullfrog Bees v. Sunland Trading, E.D. Cal. # 2:21-00582).
Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, who owned jewelry companies in New York City , pleaded guilty Sept. 10 to leading a scheme to "illegally evade customs duties for more than $13.5 million of jewelry imports" into the U.S., the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced. Shah, a resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, and Mumbai, also admitted to illicitly processing over $10.3 million through an "unlicensed money transmitting business."
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Aug. 19-25, Aug. 26 - Sept. 1, Sept. 2-8:
The Court of International Trade on Sept. 9 rejected importer Katana Racing's renewed motion to dismiss the govenrment's action against it seeking over $5.7 million in unpaid duties on passenger vehicle and light truck tires from China, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the trade court's previous dismissal of the case. In her first opinion since being confirmed to the court, Judge Lisa Wang said the U.S. didn't fail to properly identify the "person" liable for the violation, exhaust administrative remedies or bring the case on time (U.S. v. Katana Racing, CIT # 19-00125).
Ontario resident Wasseem Ramjaun pleaded guilty Sept. 4 to importing counterfeit goods, causing a "total loss" of $4,216,025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York announced. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $2 million fine.