The Court of International Trade ordered CBP to admit coaxial cable connectors imported by Corning Gilbert, but found by CBP to be subject to an International Trade Commission general exclusion order for patent infringement. Corning Gilbert was not a party to the ITC Section 337 investigation that resulted in the general exclusion order, and so the ITC never specifically found that the company’s connectors infringed the relevant patents. But CBP denied entry to Corning Gilbert’s connectors based on the exclusion order, and later issued a ruling letter confirming that the company’s connectors were to be refused entry. CIT found that CBP’s ruling letter was not entitled to deference because the agency didn’t adequately address the question of patent infringement. After examining the patent at issue and Corning Gilbert’s connector, CIT said the connector didn’t infringe the relevant patents and should not have been excluded.

One fugitive has been captured and extradited to the U.S., and several federal fugitives continue to be sought in connection to a multi-million dollar export fraud scheme, said the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. The OIG said its investigations found that the fugitives and several other defendants conspired to defraud the Ex-Im Bank of millions of dollars through various loan schemes resulting in over $22 million in claims paid by Ex-Im Bank. The fugitives have been charged with a variety of federal criminal violations to include conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering, it said.

Eagle Metals Distributors and Evergreen Solar appealed the Court of International Trade’s November decision affirming the all others rate from the countervailing duty investigation of aluminum extrusions from China. Eagle and Evergreen, two U.S. importers, had challenged the International Trade Administration’s calculation of the all others rate relying all available subsidy programs in China and 100% usage of those programs. On remand, CIT affirmed the ITA’s reliance of only some subsidy programs. The court also affirmed the usage rates for the subsidy programs, despite objections from Eagle and Evergreen, among others, that such high usage rates weren’t realistic.

R.T. Foods appealed a Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification case that resulted in its tempura battered vegetables being classified as vegetable preparations, dutiable at 11.2 percent, instead of as duty-free food preparations. The Court of International Trade said "vegetable preparations" specifically describes the product, which means it can’t fall into the “other” food preparations category. CIT’s ruling only applied to three of the 24 entries R.T. Foods had challenged, because the company waited too long to file its court challenge of 10 entries for which protests were denied, and lacked standing to challenge another 11 entries on constitutional grounds.

Samsung International appealed a Nov. 21 Court of International Trade ruling that its plasma screen televisions imported from Mexico were not eligible for NAFTA duty-free treatment. CBP had found, and the court agreed, that a part of the televisions were flat panel screen assemblies, which are not covered by any NAFTA tariff-shift rule of origin.

The Court of International Trade dismissed JSC Acron’s challenge of the International Trade Administration’s refusal to conduct an antidumping changed circumstances review of solid fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate from Russia (A-801-811). Acron requested the review to change its AD rate from the 253.98 percent Russia-wide entity rate, assigned while the ITA still considered Russia to be a non-market economy, to an individual market economy rate. After the ITA refused its request, Acron challenged the determination at CIT under 28 USC 1581(i) residual jurisdiction. But CIT said the ITA’s action couldn’t be challenged under Section 1581(i) because residual jurisdiction only applies when no other remedies are available, and Acron could have instead requested an administrative review.

The Court of International Trade ruled that Customs correctly classified plaintiff The Pomeroy Collection’s decorative glass “pillar plates,” floor-, and wall-mounted vessels, designed for use as candle holders, as “Glassware of a kind used for . . . indoor decoration or similar purposes” under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 7013, dutiable at 4.3 to 18 percent. Pomeroy had attempted to argue that the merchandise was classifiable under heading 9405 (“Lamps and lighting”), or alternatively, heading 9403 (“Other furniture and parts thereof”), both of which enter duty-free from Mexico. CIT said heading 9405 did not apply because the merchandise was not shipped with candles and was not specifically designed to hold candles. Heading 9403 didn’t apply because the goods were decorative, not utilitarian, CIT said.

The Court of International Trade sustained a remand redetermination of the 2008-09 antidumping duty administrative review of polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet, and strip from China (A-570-924). At issue in the remand was the International Trade Administration’s choice of surrogate data to value polyethylene terephthalate chips used by Fuwei Films to produce its film, among other issues. DuPont challenged the remand, but the court found the company’s arguments unavailing because they had earlier argued opposite positions. As a result of the remand, Fuwei Films’ AD rate for the 2008-09 review fell to 0.27 percent, and Green Packing’s to zero.

Three Seattle-area men, a Chinese man, and two companies from the U.S. and China were indicted Jan. 17 for conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement. U.S.-based ConnectZone.com, an electronics distributor, as well as its owner Daniel Oberholtzer, sales manager Warren Lance Wilder, and production manager Edward Vales, 31, are alleged to have sold counterfeit network products bearing the trademark of Cisco Systems through their online store, ICE said. They falsely advertised the knockoffs as genuine and offered them for sale at a much lower price than genuine Cisco products, it alleged.

The Court of International Trade remanded the final results of the final results of the 2009-10 antidumping duty administrative review of pure magnesium from China (A-570-864), because the International Trade Administration improperly rejected a late submission alleging fraud. While the ITA has the power to enforce its deadlines, CIT said, fraud allegations are a special circumstance. CIT also remanded for further consideration the ITA’s selection of three surrogate values, including two on voluntary remand.