The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of May 5-11:
A Chinese company and three Chinese nationals were charged for their alleged roles in the illegal importation of "pill-making equipment," according to an indictment unsealed on May 12, DOJ announced. The company, CapsulCN International Co., and the individuals, Xiochuan "Ricky" Pan, Tingyan "Monica" Yang and Xi "Inna" Chen, were charged with smuggling and violating the Controlled Substances Act.
DOJ is adding certain trade violations to the list of “priority areas” for its whistleblower awards program, Matthew Galeotti, head of DOJ’s Criminal Division, said during an industry conference May 12, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.
The Trump administration on May 9 issued an executive order declaring that it will disfavor criminal enforcement of regulatory offenses in an effort to combat overregulation. Criminal customs enforcement likely won't be affected by the order, since the administration is placing a larger emphasis on trade enforcement and these cases arise out of statutes and not federal regulations, trade lawyers told us.
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website May 12, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.
Revenue generated from audits totaled $117 million in April, down 62% from March's audit revenue total of $310 million but 228% higher than the $13 million generated in April 2024, according to CBP's monthly update.
CBP has issued a final rule setting emergency import restrictions for certain categories of archaeological and ethnological material of Lebanon, according to a notice released May 13. "Importation of covered material from Lebanon will be restricted until January 23, 2029, unless the conditions set forth in 19 U.S.C. 2606 and 19 CFR 12.104c are met," CBP said.
President Donald Trump's nominee to lead CBP, Rodney Scott, was recommended by the Senate Finance Committee on a 14-13 vote on May 13. All Republicans supported his nomination, and all Democrats voted against Scott.
Companies are starting to feel their way into a long-range import plan while still coping with a number of unknowns in the near term, according to a DHL official speaking during a May 12 company webinar on U.S. tariff updates.
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.