The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 23-29:
Federal Universal Service Fund
The FCC's Universal Service Fund (USF) was created by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to fund programs designed to provide universal telecommunications access to all U.S. citizens. All telecommunications providers are required to contribute a percentage of their end-user revenues to the Fund, which the FCC allocates for four core programs: 1. Connect America Fund, which subsidizes telecom providers for the increased costs of offering services to customers in rural and remote areas 2. Lifeline, which directly subsidizes low-income households to help pay for the cost of phone and internet service 3. Rural Health Care, which subsidizes health care providers to offer broadband telehealth services that can connect rural patients and providers with specialists located farther away 4. E-Rate, which subsidizes rural and low-income schools and libraries for internet and telecommunications costs The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) administers the USF on behalf of the FCC, but requires Congressional approval for its actions. Many states also operate their own universal service funds, which operate independently from the federal program.
Latest News on the Universal Service Fund
The Commerce Department may use a substantial transformation analysis to determine the country of origin of a given product in scope rulings, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in an April 25 decision. Vacating a holding of the Court of International Trade, the Federal Circuit found Commerce did not err when it looked into whether Chinese intermediate goods were transformed into Indonesian finished goods when determining whether to apply antidumping duties on oil country tubular goods from China.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 16-22:
The Court of International Trade extended a recently issued temporary restraining order that prevented CBP from requiring a bond of about $125,000 per shipment on an auto parts importer (see 1804090031). The April 19 ruling said the TRO would remain until May 9 in order to allow for a hearing on a motion to convert the TRO into a preliminary injunction. The CIT also ruled on April 12 that a 75 percent bond, proposed by CBP as a reduction from the initial enhanced bonding requirement, could also cause irreparable harm. Instead, U.S. Auto Parts' "single entry bond shall be 3% of the declared commercial value of each shipment, which reflects the approximately 1% quantity of allegedly infringing goods present in the entries multiplied by three," the CIT said. U.S. Auto Parts filed the suit earlier this month in response to what it called excessive bonding requirements (see 1804050022).
The Court of International Trade on April 16 denied an importer’s bid to sink a government customs penalty case, rejecting its arguments that the liquidation of an entry makes it final and bars CBP from imposing penalties and seeking unpaid duties. The court also found the government’s complaint successfully alleged that Great Neck Saw Manufacturers’ omission of purportedly improper “buying commissions” may have constituted violations of 19 USC 1592.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 9-15:
Roasted sunflower seeds imported by Well Luck are classifiable in the tariff schedule as prepared foods, not in a subheading specifically for sunflower seeds, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said as it affirmed a lower court ruling, albeit with different reasoning. Though the seeds are classifiable in both subheadings, the subheading for prepared foods is more specific because it involves additional processing and is more difficult to satisfy, the Federal Circuit said.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 2-8:
An importer accused of trademark infringement will get a reprieve from additional customs bonds it says will put it out of business, after the Court of International Trade on April 6 issued a temporary restraining order narrowing the scope of CBP’s enhanced bonding requirements. The court told CBP to begin processing shipments from U.S. Auto Parts not implicated in the purported trademark infringement, and to restrict its demands for single transaction bonds only to allegedly counterfeit merchandise. The order expires April 20.
The Court of International Trade on April 5 rejected a bid to stop Section 232 tariffs on steel products, finding the recently announced 25 percent tariff may be imposed for economic reasons in addition to national security. The court denied Severstal’s motion for a preliminary injunction barring imposition of the tariffs on the importer, and will now proceed to hear arguments over whether it should dismiss the case entirely.