The Court of International Trade on Nov. 12 granted default judgment against importer Rago Tires for negligence in importing tires by not declaring the goods as subject to antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese truck and bus tires. Judge Joseph Laroski ordered Rago to pay a $14,108.87 penalty.

DOJ has increasingly relied on an undervaluation theory for trade enforcement cases brought under the False Claims Act in its increased attempt to police trade fraud and may be looking to include "corporate integrity agreements" as part of trade-related FCA settlements, attorneys at Faegre Drinker said during a Nov. 13 webinar that focused on increased trade enforcement.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Oct. 27 - Nov. 2 and Nov. 3-9:

Three Chinese researchers were charged on Nov. 5 with conspiracy to smuggle biological materials into the U.S. and for making false statements to CBP officers, DOJ announced. The individuals, Xu Bai, Fengfan Zhang and Zhiyong Zhang, were all research scholars with J-1 visas conducting research at the University of Michigan laboratory of researcher Xianzhong Xu, DOJ said.

Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 may be a more limited "fall-back option" for the Trump administration should the Supreme Court strike down all the tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Dr. Mona Paulsen, law professor at the London School of Economic Law School, wrote in a blog post.

The Court of International Trade on Nov. 4 granted importer Camel Energy's motion to expedite its case against CBP's detention of two of its battery entries. Judge Claire Kelly, who was assigned to the case on Oct. 29, granted the motion to expedite and said that Camel Energy "may file a proposed briefing schedule" along with a "brief statement of reasons as to why this expedited timeframe is necessary" by Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. ET (Camel Energy v. United States, CIT # 25-00230).

Importer Topcon Positioning Systems on Nov. 3 told the Court of International Trade that its "laser levels" are "surveying instruments," properly classified under duty-free Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 9015.30.4000, which provides for "levels" used for "surveying." In a motion for summary judgment, Topcon also argued that its accessories are, "in turn," classified under duty-free subheading 9015.90.0030, which covers accessories of surveying instruments (Topcon Positioning Systems v. United States, CIT # 14-00189).

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas set sentencing for Jan. 8 in a case against a customs broker for conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Cardone referred the case for sentencing in an Oct. 24 order after accepting the guilty plea from the individual, Carlos Leopoldo Alvelais (USA v. Carlos Leopoldo Alvelais, W.D. Tex. # 3:25-02512).

President Donald Trump won't attend the oral arguments at the Supreme Court over the legality of his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to levy tariffs on countries around the world, he announced Nov. 2.

The U.S. agreed to stay the effective date of an import ban for swimming crab fisheries in Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka pending the National Marine Fisheries Service's reconsideration of the comparability findings for these fisheries (National Fisheries Institute v. United States, CIT # 25-00223).