On September 21, 2011, the Justice Department announced that the owner of two Petersburg, Virginia retail stores, Belal Amin Alsaidi, was arrested on charges related to his alleged sale of counterfeit goods. According to the indictment, between May 2007 and April 2009, Alsaidi allegedly purchased apparel and shoes that he knew were counterfeit from an individual in New York and then sold this merchandise at his two stores. He allegedly sold goods bearing fake trademarks for companies such as Nike, NFL, Lacoste, True Religion and Coogi.

The Court of International Trade has ruled against Toyota¹ and denied its request to resubmit claims for NAFTA duty drawback on entries of unused automobile service parts imported into the U.S. and later exported to Canada. The CIT found Toyota's drawback methods failed to calculate the average inventory turnover period on a part-specific basis and would have resulted in Toyota receiving drawback for parts imported more than three years before being exported. The CIT also ruled that Customs was not responsible for Toyota's untimely drawback claims and amendments.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced that an electronic waste recycling company, Executive Recycling Inc., its chief executive officer, and its former vice president of operations were indicted on charges in connection to the failure to file a notification to export hazardous waste; exportation contrary to law; and destruction, alteration, or falsification of records.

In the August 2006 -- July 2007 AD administrative review of certain frozen fish fillets from Vietnam, the International Trade Administration valued whole pangas fish (retailed as catfish) at 98 Bangladeshi Takas per kilogram, based on a 2000-2001 financial statement of a Bangladeshi producer, adjusted for inflation. The ITA found that other, more recent price sources were unsuitable or had not yet been sufficiently vetted, including a Food & Agriculture Organization price survey that cited a much lower average value. Vietnamese producer QVD Food Co., Ltd. challenged the ITA’s choice of surrogate values for fish and its calculation of expense ratios.

In a case challenging the previously suspended AD duty investigation of honey from China (carried out during the period January 1, 2000 through June 30, 2000) the International Trade Administration made a “critical circumstances”¹ determination, reversed it on a remand from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, then, following additional remands from the Court of International Trade, revived the critical circumstance finding.

Following earlier remands in the July 2004 - June 2005 AD administrative review of certain pasta from Italy, the Court of International Trade ordered the International Trade Administration to redo its calculation of the constructed value (equivalent to home market value) of pasta exported from Italy by Atar S.R.L. In this instance the CIT found the agency erred by excluding from the average profit calculation four Italian pasta producers that incurred losses during the period.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced that Robert E. Fairman, of Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to trafficking in counterfeit professional sports apparel and accessory items. ICE investigations revealed he was in possession of over 2,200 counterfeit sports apparel and accessory items valued at more than $500,000 based upon the manufacturer's suggested retail price. If convicted, Fairman faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a three year period of supervised release and a $2 million fine.

The Justice Department has announced that Bridgestone Corporation has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $28 million criminal fine for its role in conspiracies to make corrupt payments to foreign government officials in Latin America related to the sale of marine hose and other industrial products, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other charges.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced that a Los Angeles man, Sok Hun Jin, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for trafficking in counterfeit goods, for selling thousands of counterfeit, Chinese-made Ab Circle Pro machines that he illegally imported into the U.S. In his guilty plea earlier in 2011, Jin admitted he arranged for separate packages with fake instructional DVDs, manuals, and stickers to be shipped from China. He was ordered to pay a $6,000 fine and $60,000 in restitution to the manufacturer of legitimate Ab Circle Pro machines.

The Justice Department has announced that a second California aftermarket auto lights distributor, Maxzone Vehicle Lighting Corp., has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $43 million criminal fine for participating in a global conspiracy to fix the prices of aftermarket auto lights.