The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Aug. 28 upheld several lower court rulings that found masonry anchors are not subject to antidumping duties on steel nails from China and Vietnam. Affirming three Court of International Trade decisions issued in 2018 (see 1805290053, 1809240016 and 1810020020), the appeals court held that anchors imported by OMG, Simpson Strong-Tie and Midwest Fastener do not function as nails, and so aren’t covered by the scope language in the AD duty orders.

Ambiance Apparel and its owner reached a plea agreement with the Department of Justice concerning charges of undervaluing imported garments to avoid customs duty costs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Central District of California said in an Aug. 26 news release. The Los Angeles company and its owner, Sang Bum Noh, agreed to plead guilty and to pay nearly $118 million, the release said. “Ambiance Apparel -- the operating name for two corporations, Ambiance U.S.A. Inc. and Apparel Line U.S.A., Inc. -- agreed to plead guilty to eight counts, including conspiracy, money laundering, and customs offenses,” it said.

Door thresholds assembled from aluminum extrusions and non-aluminum components are not always subject to antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions from China, the Court of International Trade said in an Aug. 27 decision. Reversing positions taken by Commerce in a scope ruling issued in late 2018 (see 1901150033), the trade court found mentions of door thresholds in the scope as subject merchandise only refer to whole aluminum extrusions used as thresholds, and not assemblies containing extruded aluminum.

CBP didn't deviate from an established classification treatment for imported bike seats for kids when it applied a higher duty classification than what was sought by the importer, the Court of International Trade said in an Aug. 25 decision. The finding is the result of a lawsuit filed by Kent International, which said CBP didn't give Kent the same treatment as competitors when it classified Kent child bicycle seat entries in heading 8714, dutiable at 10 percent, rather than in a duty-free provision of subheading 9401.80. CBP declined to reliquidate the entries in 2015 (see 1504290018).

Five people are facing federal charges over allegations of illegal filing of drawback claims, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said in a news release. An Aug. 12 grand jury indictment, which was unsealed Aug. 25, charged Dale Behm of Shell Knob, Missouri; Yong Heng Liang of Daly City, California; Joshua Stanka of Katy, Texas; Joshua Clark of Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas; and Michael Choy of Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, “with conspiracy, wire fraud, and related charges related to an alleged scheme to submit fraudulent claims for refunds on import duties,” the release said.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories from Aug. 17-21 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

After the first high-level review of the phase one trade deal, the principals talked about progress and ensuring the success of the U.S.-China trade agreement, but some believe the happy talk can't obscure that China and the U.S. are disentangling their mutual dependency in tech goods and services. “There is a re-alignment that is happening in real time,” Rideau Potomac Strategy Group President Eric Miller said in an Aug. 25 phone interview, the day after the call. U.S. and Chinese trade officials reemphasized their commitment to the phase one agreement during the Aug. 24 call, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said.

The Trump administration's use of tariffs on steel and aluminum, China tensions and the threat of tariffs on French products in retaliation for digital taxes have prompted constituents to lobby on trade like never before, said Nasim Fussell, a Holland & Knight partner who recently left her position as chief international trade counsel for the Senate Finance Committee. That constituent interest elevated trade for some senators who had not been hearing from constituents in the past.

Remote-learning and work-from-home mandates combined with China’s supply chain recovery to send second-quarter PC monitor imports soaring, according to Census Bureau data accessed Aug. 23 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Shipments to the U.S. took a sharp turn toward commoditization in the quarter, clear evidence of the broad-based consumer demand for desktop displays for pairing with PCs, laptops and other connectivity tools.

More companies are seeking drawback payments as the economic slowdown has increased the importance of cash on hand, CBP officials and industry executives said during the American Association of Exporters and Importers virtual conference Aug. 20. “In general, I would say COVID's had a major impact on our businesses and it's also made our company even more focused on getting cash in the door,” said Kathleen Palma, senior executive for international trade compliance at GE. “One of the levers that our leadership has been looking at has been drawback.” At the same time, Palma expects that because the company is bringing in fewer shipments, that will be reflected in fewer drawback claims going forward.