CBP found substantial evidence that Legion Furniture evaded antidumping and countervailing duty orders covering quartz surface products from China, but didn't find substantial evidence that Vanity Art evaded the same orders. CBP, in an Enforce and Protect Act Notice of Determination dated Feb. 9, said that Legion declared the merchandise as Vietnamese-origin wood furniture without declaring the quartz surface product components as subject to the orders on entry.
CBP granted an importer's protest that an automatic aerosol dispenser is classified as an appliance part, rather than as an appliance itself, in a recently released ruling.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register Feb. 15 on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 5-11:
A Florida husband and wife were each sentenced to 57 months in prison on Feb. 14 for illegally avoiding customs duties and violating the Lacey Act on between $25 million and $65 million worth of plywood products, DOJ announced. Noel and Kelsy Hernandez Quintana also were ordered to pay, "jointly and severally, $42,417,318.50 in forfeitures, as well as $1,630,324.46 in storage costs incurred by the government" after the couple "declined to abandon" the plywood seized by the government, DOJ said.
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website Feb. 13-14, 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.
China continues to expand its labor transfer programs for Uyghurs and other minorities, despite a recognition in the U.S. and elsewhere that the programs are a form of forced labor, a new report from the Jamestown Foundation said. "State work plans for this year mandate an intensification of employment requirements for the region’s targeted ethnic groups, and official labor transfer statistics reflect heightened work requirements first introduced in 2021," the report said. "Xinjiang’s focus on these requirements intensifies the region’s forced labor risk, extending it into higher-skilled sectors while concealing its coercive nature."
The top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee said that getting Chinese shipments banned from the de minimis program is how he'd like to close out his congressional career. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., is retiring at the end of 2024. "I think we will see this moving forward, if only for the animus toward China" in Congress, he said.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the Feb. 14 Federal Register on the following AD/CVD injury, Section 337 patent or other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
The International Trade Commission seeks comments by Feb. 23 on a Section 337 complaint recently filed by Samsara that seeks a ban on imports of vehicle telematics, fleet management and video-based safety systems, devices and components from Motive Technologies that allegedly infringe on Samsara’s patents. Samsara alleges Motive is making infringing goods -- which include AI dashcams and telematics devices for fleet vehicles -- in China and Malaysia, and they are subsequently imported into the U.S., according to its Feb. 9 complaint. Samsara requested a limited exclusion order and cease and desist order banning importation and sale of infringing products.