The Court of International Trade granted a reprieve to an importer facing penalties for tariff misclassification, but didn’t let the importer off the hook entirely. On Oct. 30, the court rejected a government request for penalties based on technicalities related to the calculation of the penalty amount. The government sought $324,687 against importer Lafidale for misclassification of handbags and wallets. CIT found that the importer was liable for penalties for gross negligence, but said the government’s muddled calculations prevented it from allowing the penalty to proceed. Although it denied the government’s motion, CIT said it would allow the government to correct its mistakes and refile.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is proposing to change its rules related to the filing of entries of appearance when a case is already in progress. The proposed amendments to Rule 47.3 would treat an entry of appearance filed after a case is assigned to a merits panel as a motion to appear that may be rejected by the panel (here). Motions are currently only required if an attorney’s entry of appearance is filed within 30 days of the scheduled argument.

A New Jersey woman could be facing up to 20 years in prison for export control violations related to allegedly sending military blueprints to India without a license, said the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office. Hannah Robert, who owned two New Jersey defense contracting businesses, was arraigned Oct. 28 on one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act and one count of conspiracy to violate the act, the attorney’s office said.

The Court of International Trade remanded on Oct. 11 the final determination from the antidumping duty investigation on diamond sawblades from South Korea, in a move that could result in reinstatement of AD duties. The diamond sawblades order was revoked in 2011, after the Commerce Department implemented a World Trade Organization ruling by eliminating zeroing methodology from its calculations and AD rates for all reviewed companies fell to zero (see 11102822). Zero rates in an investigation mean an order can’t be issued. CIT’s remand raises the possibility that AD rates for South Korea diamond sawblade exporters could rise above zero, even without the use of zeroing methodology, which the court says would upset Commerce’s 2011 decision to revoke.

The Court of International Trade remanded the results of an anticircumvention inquiry on steel wire rod from Mexico that found Deacero’s product to be subject to antidumping duties. Commerce had found Deacero’s wire rod, with a diameter of 4.75mm, only constituted a “minor alteration” from merchandise otherwise subject to AD duties under the order. The scope of the order on carbon and steel wire rod from Mexico says it covers steel wire rod measuring between 5mm and 19mm in diameter. The court found that existence of 4.75mm wire was so widely known before the scope was written by domestic industry that the petitioners could have covered it under the order, but chose not to.

The Court of International Trade again ruled against the Commerce Department’s 15-day period to issue liquidation instructions to CBP after publication of the final results of an administrative review, in a challenge to the 2008-09 antidumping duty review on ball bearings from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The judgment was only declaratory, however, because the plaintiffs were able to file their lawsuit and get an injunction within that period, suffering no harm from the Commerce policy.

Robert Luba, the owner of Allied Components, pleaded guilty to making a false claim to the Defense Department and for violations of the Arms Export Control Act, said ICE in a press release. Luba knowingly supplied the Defense Department with F-15 fighter plane components made in India that were supposed to be made in the U.S., said ICE. He also violated the Arms Export Control Act by transmitting information about a component of a nuclear-powered submarine to India without the approval of the State Department, the agency said.

The KMT Group AB settled a civil liability case with the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), agreeing to pay $125,000 for apparent violations of Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations committed by a subsidiary company, said OFAC. The KMT Group AB subsidiary attempted to export nine high pressure water jetting pump units pumps from the U.S. to Germany, with knowledge or reason to know that the goods were intended specifically for reexportation to South Pars Industrial Gas Complex in Tehran, Iran, said OFAC. The attempted export took place between February and March 2009. OFAC said the company did not voluntarily self-disclose the export destination to OFAC, but the violations do not constitute an egregious case, the agency said. CBP already seized two of the pumps and as part of the settlement, the KMT Group AB agreed that no KMT Group entities will contest CBP’s forfeiture proceedings against the remaining seven pumps, OFAC said.

The Court of International Trade blocked liquidation on entries of shrimp from China made from Feb. 1, 2011, through Jan. 31, 2012, after the domestic Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee filed a lawsuit challenging a Commerce Department antidumping duty administrative review. CIT Judge Claire Kelly on Oct. 16 issued a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order barring liquidation of entries of merchandise subject to the AD duty order on frozen warmwater shrimp from China for certain companies. She confirmed the orders enjoining liquidation on Oct. 21. The Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee is challenging Commerce’s selection of mandatory respondents, use of Indian surrogate data, and partial revocation for Regal. The preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order cover entries exported by the following companies:

Federal agencies are working to seize illegally imported decorative contact lenses, as part of a general crackdown on counterfeit and unapproved decorative and colored lenses in the run-up to Halloween. The ongoing effort by the Food and Drug Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and CBP, called “Operation Double Vision,” attempts to mitigate dangers associated with the contact lenses, which are increasingly popular during this time of year.