The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Jan. 9 affirmed (here) a lower court ruling that bauxite proppants used for hydraulic fracking are classifiable as ores, not ceramic wares or articles. The pellets can’t be classified as the latter because they do not have a definite shape, varying widely in size. They can be classified as ores because, even though they are intended for non-metallurgical purposes, they still include minerals that are precursors to aluminum and have not undergone any processes that aren’t used in the metallurgical industry, CAFC said.

The Court of International Trade is making minor changes to its schedule of fees that will take effect on Feb. 1, it said (here). Among other changes, the fee for an original admission for an attorney to practice before the court is rising from $76 to $81 (here), which requires conforming changes to CIT Rule 74 (here) and CIT’s application for admission (here). The court is also amending its list of judges (here) to reflect the death of Senior Judge Donald Pogue in October (see 1610260061).

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 25 - Jan. 1:

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 19-25:

The government is not limited to facts CBP includes in penalty notices when it seeks penalties from importers in court, the Court of International Trade said in a decision issued Dec. 22 (here). Rather, it can rely on facts and evidence gathered during the court case itself, CIT said. However, the court declined to rule against an importer accused of duty evasion based on those facts and evidence in a Section 1592 penalty case, finding neither side had established enough of a case either way.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 12-18:

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 5-11:

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Nov. 28 - Dec. 4:

References to “Pignolia” in the tariff schedule include only nuts of the Pinus pinea tree, the Court of International Trade said in a decision issued Dec. 2 (here). Other kinds of pine nuts, including seeds of the Pinus koraiensis tree imported by Specialty Commodities, are not classifiable as pignolia in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, CIT said.

Oil country tubular goods manufactured in Indonesia using Chinese green tubes as an input are not subject to antidumping duties on oil country tubular goods from China, the Court of International Trade said (here) as it sustained a Commerce Department scope ruling. Commerce had originally ruled the Indonesian finishing operations do not substantially transform the goods, saying they remain subject to duties on OCTG from China (see 14021124). However, the court found that logic to be unjustified in previous court rulings, and Commerce in its redetermination found that nothing in the scope of the China OCTG order covers OCTG from third countries. CIT also sustained Commerce’s decision that the OCTG from Indonesia are not circumventing AD duties because the finishing process in Indonesia is not minor or insignificant.