In the review of Horizon Lines, LLC, v. U.S. (Horizon III)ordered by the appeals court, the Court of International Trade ruled that new evidence shows that Horizon’s decision to lay-up the Horizon Crusader in Indonesia was based on its lack of a commercial use for the vessel and that costs of the lay-up were therefore not dutiable under 19 USC 1466(a)1 as part of the repairs performed later in Singapore.
The American Trucking Associations, Inc. has issued a September 2, 2010 newsletter stating that it will seek a stay of the District Court's recent ruling pending ATA's appeal, that upheld the Los Angeles Port's Clean Truck Program employee driver mandate and other features of the CTP. ATA stated that it will request the stay from the District Court and then if necessary from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Newsletter available by emailing documents@brokerpower.com .
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued the following recent decisions on patent issues involving the International Trade Commission (ITC).
The Court of International Trade (CIT) made public the following antidumping and countervailing duty law determinations in the second half of August 2010.
On August 26, 2010 the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in favor of the City of Los Angeles, holding that the Port of Los Angeles’ Clean Truck Program’s requirements, including its employee driver mandate, are enforceable.
In a partial rehearing of its January 2010 decision, U.S. v. Tip Top Pants, Inc., the Court of International Trade again ruled that U.S. Customs and Border Protection had committed a procedural violation by failing to issue a written statement to Tip Top on its mitigation petition as required by 19 USC 1592 (b)(2) and 19 CFR 171.21.
In Citizen Watch Co. of America, Inc. v. U.S, the Court of International Trade ruled that certain imported watch boxes entered separately should be classified as “other packing containers” under HTS 4819.50.40 (duty-free), instead of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s classification as “jewelry boxes and similar containers” under HTS 4202.99.90 (20% duty).
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on August 13, 2010, granted a request by opponents of genetically engineered (GE) crops to vacate the deregulation of genetically engineered sugar beets by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, as the agency did not conduct an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) beforehand. The court denied the petitioner’s request for a permanent injunction.
The Court of International Trade (CIT) and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) made the following antidumping and countervailing duty law determinations in the first half of August 2010.
On August 9, 2010, a federal jury in U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii found Noshir S. Gowadia, of Maui, guilty of five criminal offenses relating to his design for China of a low signature cruise missile exhaust system capable of rendering a Chinese cruise missile resistant to detection by infrared missiles. The jury also convicted Gowadia of illegally communicating classified information on three other occasions and unlawfully exporting technical information on those three occasions, illegally retaining defense information, and filing false tax returns for the years 2001 and 2002. The jury acquitted Gowadia of three other offenses alleging illegal communication of information to China. Gowadia faces life imprisonment on two counts, and 5 to 10 years for other counts.