The Court of International Trade extended the mediation period for a case brought by Evraz challenging the Commerce Department's denial of the importer's Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion requests. In the Dec. 11 text-only order, the trade court gave the parties until June 30, 2024, to resolve litigation led by Judge Leo Gordon. Evraz called for mediation, along with other litigants, to discuss the availability of a remedy for already liquidated entries (Evraz Inc. v. United States, CIT # 20-03869).
The Court of International Trade must dismiss a customs suit from importer Sucden Americas Corp. related to its sugar imports because the company didn't protest the liquidation of its entries or the denials of its post-importation preference claims, the U.S. said Dec. 11. Because of the failure to protest, the government said, the court doesn't have subject matter jurisdiction over the suit under Section 1581(a) (Sucden Americas Corp. v. United States, CIT # 22-00228).
The Commerce Department illegally used just one respondent in the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel flanges from India covering entries in 2018-19, the Court of International Trade ruled Dec. 8. Judge Timothy Stanceu said that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision in YC Rubber Co. v. U.S. "is directly on point" in this case, because Commerce only reviewed exporter Chandan Steel Limited in a situation where multiple other companies exported the subject merchandise.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman argued against her colleagues' argument that Newman's case against their investigation into her fitness to continue serving on the bench was mooted. Filing a sur-reply at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the 96-year-old Newman said that her colleagues' voluntary cessation of an order indefinitely suspending the judge from hearing cases is "insufficient to moot the challenge," adding that the "complained-of conduct fits into the 'capable of repetition, yet evading review' exception to mootness" (The Hon. Pauline Newman v. The Hon. Kimberly Moore, D.D.C. # 23-01334).
Importer R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. voluntarily dismissed its customs classification suit at the Court of International Trade Dec. 7. The company contested CBP's denial of its protest claiming its mixtures for use in personal electronic vaporizing devices of Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 3824.99.9280, dutiable at 5%, should be classified under subheading 8543.90.8850, free of duty. Counsel for R.J. Reynolds didn't respond to our request for comment (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. U.S., CIT # 21-00621).
The Court of International Trade on Dec. 8 denied the government's motion to dismiss Chinese printer cartridge exporter Ninestar's suit against its placement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List following a court order finding that CIT has the jurisdiction to hear challenges to inclusion on the UFLPA Entity List. Judge Gary Katzmann said the motion was moot, denying it without prejudice to a renewed motion to dismiss after Ninestar's filing of its amended complaint (Ninestar Corp. v. United States, CIT # 23-00182).
Antidumping duty petitioner Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood will appeal an October Court of International Trade decision sustaining the Commerce Department's fifth remand results in the AD investigation on hardwood plywood products from China. The court upheld Commerce'se separate rate calculation along with its decisions to exclude Jiangyang Wood and Dehua TB from the AD order, and to include Sanfortune Wood and Longyuan Wood within the order (see 2310100045). As stated in the notice of appeal, the coalition will take the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Linyi Chengen Import and Export Co. v. United States, CIT Consol. # 18-00002).
The Commerce Department stuck by its decision to apply to countervailing duty respondent The Ancientree Cabinet Co. adverse facts available related to its alleged receipt of benefits under China's Export Buyer's Credit Program. In Dec. 6 remand results to the Court of International Trade, Commerce said it tried to verify Ancientree's submissions regarding its customers' non-use of the EBCP but was unable to verify key information regarding non-use, leading to the continued AFA rate for the exporter (Dalian Meisen Woodworking Co. v. United States, CIT # 20-00110).
The Commerce Department reverted to a previously used land benchmark calculation for its 2017 administrative review of the countervailing duty order on solar cells from China. The court previously had sent back the land benchmark formula for violating the scope of an earlier remand order, telling Commerce to use the calculation from its first remand, in which the agency used a 2010 Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE) land report to set the benchmark (see 2311170034) (Risen Energy Co. v. U.S., CIT # 20-03912).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade: