Jacob Kopnick

The Commerce Department must further explain its departure from the expected method in calculating the non-individually examined respondents rate in an antidumping review, the Court of International Trade said in an July 30 opinion made public on Aug. 6. Chief Judge Mark Barnett, issuing his third opinion in the case, partially remanded the case yet again, but did sustain Commerce's corroboration of the petition rate for mandatory respondent Unicatch based on individual transactions.

Garg Tube Export and Garg Tube Limited want proceedings in their Court of International Trade case stayed until another lawsuit, also filed by Garg Tube Export, is resolved, the plaintiffs said in an Aug. 5 motion. Since both cases concern the Commerce Department's finding of a particular market situation in India for the sale of welded carbon steel standard pipes and tubes, the similarity of the legal issues prompts a stay order, the plaintiffs said. Garg requested the stay in a case over the 2018-19 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on welded carbon steel standard pipes and tubes from India until the appeal is resolved for its case over the 2017-18 administrative review for the same goods. Doing so would "promote judicial efficiency," the exporter said (Garg Tube Export LLP et al. v. United States, CIT #21-00169).

Aluminum extrusion producer Kingtom Aluminio requested to intervene in a Court of International Trade case over an antidumping duty evasion investigation that found it transshipped aluminum extrusions from China through the Dominican Republic to skirt the duties. A previous request was denied by Judge Richard Eaton (see 2106210059). Undeterred, Kingtom filed a motion for reconsideration in the court. Eaton permitted the producer on Aug. 5 to support its motion with an affidavit by individuals who can speak to Kingtom's interests in the case along with a brief, with a maximum of 10 pages, to explain how this affidavit satisfies the requirement for intervention (Global Aluminum Distributor LLC v. United States, CIT #21-00198).

The Court of International Trade should dismiss an antidumping and countervailing duty evasion protest brought by All One God Faith, doing business as Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, since the court lacks jurisdiction over the entries, the U.S. defense said on Aug. 2 in a partial motion to dismiss. Since Dr. Bronner's xanthan gum entries have already liquidated and the importer failed to make a timely appeal of its protest of the liquidation, the court has no jurisdiction over the entries, the Department of Justice said (All One God Faith, Inc. et al. v. United States, CIT #20-00164).

Two Court of International Trade cases from Optima Steel International should not be consolidated since they fall under different "jurisdictional provisions and standards of review," the Department of Justice argued in an Aug. 5 brief. While one case challenges CBP's assessment of antidumping duties and thus falls under Section 1581(a), the other goes after the Commerce Department's liquidation instructions and therefore is under Section 1581(i). "In Court No. 21-00062, the question before the Court is whether CBP, in its ministerial role, properly assessed antidumping duties to the entries at issue pursuant to Commerce’s liquidation instructions," DOJ said. "Court No. 21-00327, however, involves the question of whether Commerce’s liquidation instructions were proper based upon the record before Commerce. Thus, the distinct operative facts and legal issues in the two actions weigh against consolidation" (Optima Steel International, LLC v. U.S., CIT #21-00062) (Optima Steel Internaitonal, LLC et al. v. U.S., CIT #21-00327).

The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:

The Mexican government launched a lawsuit on Aug. 4 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against 10 gun manufacturers for their role in the spread of firearms in their nation. In a fiery complaint, Mexico decried the actions of the manufacturers who "design, market, distribute, and sell guns in ways they know routinely arm the drug cartels in Mexico." Through the use of corrupt gun dealers and illegal sales practices, these gun makers traffick weapons across the U.S.-Mexico border and cause countless death, destruction and economic harm, Mexico said.

The Commerce Department properly selected Mexico over Malaysia as the surrogate nation in an antidumping duty review, the Court of International Trade held in an Aug. 5 opinion. Ruling that Mexico served as a significant producer of identical merchandise and that the selection of the Mexican financial statements was backed by reasonable evidence, Judge Timothy Reif upheld Commerce's determination.

A Court of International Trade case over importer Greenlight Organic's alleged fraud in misclassifying its knit garments should be dropped since the statute of limitations ran out, Greenlight said in an Aug. 3 brief. After the court ruled in 2018 that the statute of limitations had some lingering questions, Greenlight said it has procured enough evidence for the court to now rule in its favor and that the U.S.'s fraud case is effectively time barred (United States v. Greenlight Organic, Inc. et al., CIT #17-00031).

The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade: