After extended litigation and multiple appeals led to a negative injury determination by the International Trade Commission, a group of overseas producer/exporters of ball bearings and parts thereof sought to have the Court of international Trade force the International Trade Administration to 1) terminate suspension of liquidation, 2) issue liquidation instructions and return all cash deposits for entries from the United Kingdom entered on or after August 25, 2010, and 3) issue liquidation instructions and return all cash deposits for entries from Japan entered on or after March 1, 2011. (The companies in this group are JTEKT Corporation, Koyo Corporation U.S.A., NSK Corporation, NSK Ltd., and NSK Europe Ltd.: the court case lists NSK Corporation et al. as plaintiffs and FAG Italia S.p.A. et al. as plaintiff-intervenors.)
The Court of International Trade has issued new remand instructions in the May 2005-April 2006 AD duty administrative review of ball bearings and parts thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, following an earlier decision by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that permitted the use of third-party costs for the first time under the order but required an explanation of the approach from the International Trade Administration.
Domestic producers Clearon Corporation and Occidental Chemical Corporation challenged the International Trade Administration’s decision to exclude surrogate company financial statements that it found were tainted by Indian Government subsidies, and thus rely on a single surrogate firm’s data, in the June 2008 - May 2009 AD administrative review of chlorinated isocyanurates from China.
The Justice Department states that a Miami Beach man, Enrique Gomez De Molina, who used various wildlife parts in taxidermy pieces that were offered for sale on the Internet, through galleries, and shows, has been charged in a criminal Information for knowingly transporting, possessing, and selling wildlife with a value greater than $350 in violation of the Lacey Act. If convicted, the defendant faces a possible maximum term of imprisonment of up to five years, criminal fines of up to $250,000, and a period of supervised release of up to three years. In addition, all specimens of wildlife trafficked in violation of the Lacey Act are subject to forfeiture.
The Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General states that Eric Hernandez, a former Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration motor carrier safety specialist, was sentenced to six months in prison for accepting a bribe. Mr. Hernandez, an FMCSA border inspector, sold a Level I Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) decal to the driver of a commercial motor vehicle knowing that the vehicle had not been inspected.
The Center for Environmental Health announced it has reached settlements with eleven companies1, including Kiss My Face, Boots, and Colomer, requiring them to adhere to the California Organic Production Act (COPA). The settlement follows CEH’s June lawsuit alleging their products were mislabeled as organic.
The Justice Department has announced that George Gonzalez, a former chief commercial officer of Cielos Airlines, a Peruvian air cargo carrier, pleaded guilty for his role in a conspiracy to fix surcharges on air cargo shipments from the U.S. to South and Central America.
On November 1, 2011, the Department of Transportation's Inspector General announced that Medchem Corporation (Medchem) and Hasan Ibrahim were indicted in U.S. District Court, San Francisco, California, on charges of illegal transportation of hazardous materials, attempted placement of destructive substances on aircraft, attempted smuggling of goods, and failure to file export information.
The Justice Department has announced that a Taiwan aftermarket auto lights manufacturer, its U.S.-based subsidiary distributor, and its chairman have been indicted for participating in an international conspiracy to fix the prices of aftermarket auto lights.
Domestic producers Clearon Corporation and Occidental Chemical Corporation challenged the results of the June 2006 - May 2007 AD administrative review of chlorinated isocyanurates from China, objecting to the values used for urea, steam coal and ammonia gas by-products: the International Trade Administration sought a voluntary remand on the ammonia gas value as well.