Plaintiffs in a case challenging President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw a tariff exclusion for bifacial solar panels reserved all their rights to the extent that the plaintiffs are affected by the U.S.'s inadvertent liquidations of the entries at issue in the action, the plaintiffs said in a Sept. 13 reply brief. The reserved rights include, but are not limited to, "opposing the Government’s actions and legal authority to void liquidations without court approval and without providing specificity that would allow for meaningful comment, the brief said (Solar Energy Industries Association v. United States, CIT #20-03941).
The Court of International Trade in a Sept. 13 confidential order upheld parts and sent back parts of the Commerce Department's final determination in the antidumping duty investigation on refillable stainless steel kegs from China. In a letter, Judge M. Miller Baker said he intends to issue the public version of the opinion Sept. 21, giving the parties until Sept. 20 to review the confidential information in the opinion. In the case, Commerce dropped its reliance on Malaysian surrogate data after the trade court raised questions over the distortive effects of forced labor in Malaysia (see 2111050033). While the plaintiff, American Keg Co., signed off on this move, the plaintiff continued to oppose Commerce's surrogate data pick, pushing instead for Brazilian surrogate data (New American Keg d/b/a American Keg Co. v. U.S., CIT #20-00008).
The Commerce Department legally dropped its reliance on adverse facts available for whether countervailing duty respondent Both-Well (Taizhou) Steel Fittings Co. benefitted from China's Export Buyer's Credit Program, the Court of International Trade held in a Sept. 13 opinion. Judge Claire Kelly previously sent back Commerce's use of adverse facts available over the Chinese government's unwillingness to submit certain information about its EBCP. The judge said that if the agency wanted to keep using AFA it had to attempt to verify the non-use of the program by looking at evidence from Both-Well and its U.S. customers. Commerce did so on remand, finding that the respondent did not benefit from the EBCP, dropping the company's CVD rate from 25.90% to 15.36%.
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Plaintiffs in a countervailing duty case, Tau-Ken Temir, JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk and Kazakhstan's Ministry of Trade and Integration, will appeal a July Court of International Trade ruling to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the plaintiffs said in a Sept. 11 notice of appeal. In the case, the trade court ruled the Commerce Department properly rejected Tau-Ken Temir's questionnaire responses for being untimely, as they were filed an hour and 41 minutes beyond the deadline (see 2207150035). The court said it is unclear why the plaintiffs failed to file an extension request earlier in the process rather than an hour and 10 minutes before the deadline (Tau-Ken Temir v. U.S., CIT #21-00173).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The Court of International Trade should reject a motion from defendant Zhe "John" Liu to strike various paragraphs of the U.S.'s complaint in a Section 592 penalty case, the U.S. argued in a Sept. 8 reply brief. DOJ argued that Liu cannot show that his knowledge and experience -- the content of the paragraphs contested by Liu -- are not material to the issues in the case and thus should not be struck (United States v. Zhe "John" Liu, CIT #22-00215).
The Commerce Department disregarded the potential for countervailing duty respondent CS Wind Vietnam to manipulate its CVD margin through its relationship with its Korean parent company, plaintiff Wind Tower Trade Coalition (WTTC) said in Sept. 7 comments on Commerce's remand results. Submitting its arguments to the Court of International Trade, WTTC said Commerce's use of CS Wind Korea's reported sales value in the sales denominator was inconsistent with the agency's regulations and past practice (Wind Tower Trade Coalition v. U.S., CIT #20-03692).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in a Sept. 7 opinion affirmed the conviction and sentence of Iranian national Mehrdad Ansari for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas convicted Ansari for his role in a scheme to obtain military sensitive parts for Iran in violation of the Iran trade embargo. The appellate court upheld his conviction, rejecting his two constitutional arguments against the district court's ruling and Ansari's evidentiary claims (United States v. Ansari, 5th Cir. #21-50915).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade: