The Office of Foreign Assets Control has announced civil penalties of $15,000 for a Minnesota company and $5,400 for an Alabama company for separate violations of the Iran Transaction Regulations. OFAC determined that both companies did not voluntarily disclose these matters to OFAC and that the apparent violations constituted non-egregious cases. Civil penalties for both companies were lower than the base penalty for the alleged violations.
Chinese producers challenged the International Trade Administration’s 2006 less-than-fair-value determination on diamond sawblades and parts thereof from China: the use of “zeroing” (the elimination of non-dumped transactions from the margin calculation), the choice of a particular Indian surrogate firm for expense and profit ratios, and the valuation of steel inputs. Domestic producers challenged the ITA’s country-of-origin determination and the award of a separate rate to Advanced Technology & Materials Co. Ltd. and its affiliates (ATM), but the Court of International Trade dismissed all complaints except the steel valuation and the separate rates decision, both of which it remanded to the ITA.
In 2006, the International Trade Administration published a determination of dumping margins in the less-than-fair-value investigation of diamond saw blades and parts thereof from Korea; however, the order was recently revoked in an ITA section 129 determination, due to an adverse panel report from the World Trade Organization on the use of zeroing in the ITA’s calculations (zeroing is omitting non-dumped sales from the overall margin calculation). Despite this, the Court of International Trade agreed with the Diamond Sawblades Manufacturers’ Coalition that domestic producers risked irreversible damage from Korean entries, and that they had some likelihood of success in their litigation over the ITA’s methods in the investigation. Accordingly, the court granted an injunction to delay liquidation of entries of Korean diamond saw blades, for which liquidation has been suspended since January 23, 2009. (Slip Op. 11-137, dated 11/03/11)
The Justice Department has announced that Guillermo Mondino, the owner of Texon Inc., an export company in Miami, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of approximately $24 million.
The Court of International Trade has ruled in the test case Airflow Technology, Inc., v. U.S., that Sperifilt air filter media is properly classified as a duty-free nonwoven in HTS heading 5603 and not a textile fabric or article under heading 5911 as argued by Customs. The CIT stated that the Sperifilt is not classifiable in heading 5911 because, according to Chapter 59 Note 7, the Sperifilt is not a "textile fabric", is not similar to textile fabrics used for card clothing, and is not a "textile article."
The Court of International Trade has ruled that Ford Motor Company can continue its lawsuit claiming that CBP does not have the authority to reopen 17 drawback entries from 1996-1998 that were "deemed liquidated" one year after they were filed. CBP had wanted the court to dismiss Ford's case, stating that it had the authority to review and then "affirmatively liquidate" them.
The Court of International Trade has ruled in The Container Store v. U.S., that the elfa® system of top tracks and hanging standards is classifiable as duty-free unit furniture under heading 9403, and not as other mountings for furniture in heading 8302. Using reasoning from a recent Appeals Court decision, the CIT explained that because the elfa® is designed to be hung, it falls within an exception that includes it in the heading 9403 definition of furniture, and because of its versatility, it is qualified to be considered 9403 unit furniture.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has assessed a penalty of $7,000 on Zurigo Trading Inc. for violating the Iranian Transactions Regulations by attempting to export goods to Iran on behalf of its foreign customer.
The Court of International Trade has ruled in a test case, Firstrax, Div. of United Pet Group, Inc., v. U.S., that certain soft crates for pets are classifiable as made up (textile) articles in heading 6307 and not as cases in heading 4202 as classified by Customs. The CIT explained that the soft crates did not meet the four essential characteristics of the goods listed in heading 4202; they did not (1) organize, (2) store, (3) protect, and (4) carry various items.
The Justice Department has announced that GEM Manufacturing LLC of the U.S. Virgin Islands, a manufacturer of high-end jewelry, art, and sculpture items, was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $1.8 million for knowingly trading in falsely-labeled, protected black coral that was shipped into the U.S. in violation of the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act. When combined with another fine for community service work and forfeiture of items worth $2.17 million, the aggregate financial penalty of $4.47 million makes this the largest for the illegal trade in coral, the largest non-seafood wildlife trafficking financial penalty and the fourth largest for any U.S. case involving the illegal trade of wildlife.