The Court of International Trade on Oct. 7 denied importer Interglobal Forest's application for attorney's fees in its suit challenging CBP's affirmative finding of evasion of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on hardwood plywood from China. Judge Mark Barnett said that Interglobal wasn't a "prevailing party" in the action because the evasion determination was reversed without admitting to an agency error and only after the Commerce Department reversed its scope finding after separate legal action at the trade court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 8 said the Court of International Trade improperly rejected the Commerce Department's inclusion of door thresholds imported by Worldwide Door Components and Columbia Aluminum Products in the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China. Judges Sharon Prost, Richard Linn and Todd Hughes said Commerce adequately explained on remand that the door thresholds are subassemblies and thus not qualified for the finished merchandise exception.
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 7 sent a customs classification dispute on truck steps to a bench trial after finding that the undisputed facts are insufficient for conducting a principal use analysis on whether the products are "side protective attachments." Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves held that while a Section 301 exclusion for "side protective attachments" is a principal use provision, and not a provision for an individual product, the court can't at this time properly assess the imports at issue under a principal use framework.
CBP has released its Oct. 2 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 58, No. 39), which includes the three notifications of information collections. Also included are two U.S. Court of International Trade slip opinions, but no ruling actions.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 23-29:
CBP has released its Sept. 25 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 58, No. 38), which includes the following actions, including one ruling revocation:
Texas-based syringe importer Retractable Technologies took to the Court of International Trade to contest the 100% increase of Section 301 tariffs recently imposed on needles and syringes from China. The complaint is seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the duties, claiming that the tariffs could send the company out of business (Retractable Technologies v. United States, CIT # 24-00185).
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Sept. 9-15 and 16-22:
International trade lawyer Mary Mikhaeel will leave Miller & Chevalier, where she has worked as a senior associate since January 2023, according to a notice at the Court of International Trade. The firm said Mikaheel will leave the firm effective Sept. 23. Mikhaeel told Trade Law Daily she will be joining Covington's business and human rights practice group. She has been at Miller & Chevalier since 2020, when she joined as an associate, moving from Fox Rothschild.
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