The Transportation Department doesn't have "vested authority" to determine whether to admit entries of goods based on whether they comport with federal safety standards, the Court of International Trade held on Oct. 30. Judge Lisa Wang said that, as a result, CBP has the relevant admissibility authority and the trade court can hear the case.
Court of International Trade
The United States Court of International Trade is a federal court which has national jurisdiction over civil actions regarding the customs and international trade laws of the United States. The Court was established under Article III of the Constitution by the Customs Courts Act of 1980. The Court consists of nine judges appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is located in New York City. The Court has jurisdiction throughout the United States and has exclusive jurisdictional authority to decide civil action pertaining to international trade against the United States or entities representing the United States.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Oct. 21-27:
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 28 denied importer Retractable Technologies' motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the collection of certain Section 301 tariffs, though the court granted the company's motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining liquidation of its entries during the course of litigation. Judge Claire Kelly issued the confidential decision, giving the parties until Nov. 1 to review any confidential information in the opinion (Retractable Technologies v. U.S., CIT # 24-00185).
The Commerce Department has the authority to countervail currency undervaluation, the Court of International Trade held in a decision made public Oct. 25. Judge Timothy Reif found that nothing in the text of the countervailing duty statute, the statute's legislative history or legislative or administrative developments prohibit Commerce from imposing CVD due to a country's undervalued currency.
If a reelected President Donald Trump uses the existing Section 301 tariffs program to hike tariffs on all Chinese goods by at least 60%, that's likely to survive a court challenge, said two law professors who spoke during a Washington International Trade Association webinar on the executive branch's ability to make deals and impose trade restrictions without congressional say-so.
The Court of International Trade in a decision made public Oct. 23 sustained the Commerce Department's rejection of eight Section 232 steel tariff exclusion requests from importer Seneca Foods Corp. on its tin mill product entries. Judge Gary Katzmann said the rejections were backed by substantial evidence and in line with agency practice.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Oct. 7-13 and Oct. 14-20:
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 15 limited the scope of the testimony that will be offered by two of the government's witnesses in a customs spat on the classification of The Comfy, a wearable blanket imported by Cozy Comfort Co. Judge Stephen Vaden said fashion industry professional Patricia Concannon can testify only on topics related to the "sale, marketing, and merchandising of apparel," and that CBP national import specialist Renee Orsat "may not testify about opinions she formed during the Customs’ classification process."
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 8 sustained the Commerce Department's scope ruling including importer Printing Textiles' "Canvas Banner Matisse" imports within the scope of the antidumping duty order on artist canvas from China. Judge Timothy Stanceu said Commerce's interpretation of one sentence of the order's scope that is ambiguous "was not per se unreasonable."