The Court of International Trade is now open as of Nov. 5, but the James L. Watson Courthouse remains closed because it has no heat, CIT said in an update on its website. For the purposes of Rule 6(a)(3), the Clerk’s Office is accessible and all filing deadlines should be met unless an extension of time is granted by CIT in the particular action, it said. For those wanting to make filings in person, contact the CIT emergency hotline at (646) 938-7537.

Two German shipping companies pleaded guilty in Houston federal court to criminal charges that they concealed the illegal dumping of oil at sea from U.S. Coast Guard inspectors. Nimmrich & Prahm Bereederung and Nimmrich & Prahm Reederei, the operator and owner of the commercial cargo vessel M/V Susan K, will pay a $1.2 million dollar criminal penalty, $200,000 of which will go to the National Marine Sanctuaries Fund as a community service payment. As a condition of probation, all vessels owned or operated by the defendants will be prohibited from entering U.S. ports or waters for five years. According to the plea agreement, the chief engineer and other crew members repeatedly discharged oily bilge waste water from the vessel into the ocean from before Aug. 1, 2011, to March 4, 2012. The chief engineer then falsified the vessel's oil record book to conceal the dumping, it said.

A California man was sentenced to 15 months in prison for violations of the Export Administration Regulations by selling export-controlled microwave amplifiers to China without the required license, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fu-Tain Lu was also ordered to serve three years of suspended release, pay a $5,000 fine, and forfeit 36 microwave amplifiers worth $136,000.

The Court of International Trade will remain closed through Nov. 2 because of the effects of Hurricane Sandy, it said on its website. CIT gave no indication on when it would reopen in its message. Check the CIT website or call the information line at (212) 264-2800 for updates, CIT said.

An Army sergeant was sentenced Oct. 30 to 46 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations violations, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fidel Ignacio Cisneros, 42, stole ITAR-controlled items while deployed for duty and, upon returning to the U.S., exported them without the required State Department licenses, ICE said.

A NAFTA panel affirmed the International Trade Administration’s use of zeroing in the 2005-06 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from Canada (A-122-840). Because NAFTA panels must apply the domestic law of the investigating country, the panel had remanded in May the ITA’s use of zeroing in administrative reviews but not investigations for further explanation, in light of Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rulings in JTEKT and Dongbu. The panel found the ITA’s explanation reasonable.

Itochu Building Products appealed a Court of International Trade ruling against its challenge of the effective date for partial revocation of the antidumping duty order on steel nails from China for four types of nails. In September, CIT said that although both domestic parties and Itochu requested an earlier effective date for the partial revocation, Itochu waived its right to challenge the later effective date selected by the International Trade Administration when it failed to comment on the later date following its announcement in the ITA’s preliminary results of the changed circumstances review. Through its lack of action, Itochu effectively communicated to the ITA that it no longer objected to the later effective date, CIT said.

Katiran Lee, 39, an Indonesian national, was indicted for allegedly importing counterfeit auto accessories from China and selling more than $3 million worth to U.S. consumers, the Justice Department said. He was charged in federal court with two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods, four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In the indictment, the government is seeking forfeiture of computers, programming equipment and thousands of blank keys and trademarked automotive emblems recovered during a search of Lee's home on Feb. 22, 2012, and the forfeiture of property totaling up to $600,000.

A Taiwanese national was sentenced to two years in prison Oct. 24 for helping to obtain and export military sensitive parts for Iran, in violation of the Iranian trade embargo, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The indictment charged Susan Yip, 35, a citizen of Taiwan, along with Mehrdad Foomanie (aka Frank Foomanie) of Iran, and Merdad Ansari of the United Arab Emirates, with conspiracy to violate the Iranian Transaction Regulations, conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Yip had pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge July 20, admitting that from Oct. 9, 2007 to June 15, 2011, she acted as a broker and conduit for Foomanie to buy items in the United States and have them unlawfully shipped to Iran.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement seized two more antique statues that it traced back to alleged smuggler Subhash Kapoor, it said. The statues, which are estimated to be worth $1.7 million, were seized from a Manhattan hotel Oct. 23. The hotel was allegedly lent the statues by Art of the Past gallery, which is owned by Kapoor. In July, an arrest warrant for Kapoor was issued by the Manhattan Criminal Court on charges he possessed stolen property.