The Commerce Department's use of adverse facts available against Greek exporter Corinth Pipeworks Pipe Industry was "flawed" since the agency never gave the company a chance to comment on its calculation and analysis, Corinth argued in its Sept. 29 opening brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The exporter added that Commerce also failed to support its use of a 41.04% AFA rate since the company didn't withhold information, impede the antidumping duty review on large diameter welded pipe from Greece or fail to submit information in the form and manner requested (Corinth Pipeworks Pipe Industry v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-2094).

The Commerce Department failed to support its position in a countervailing duty case that the South Korean government gave up some revenue through the provision of its emissions trading program, the Court of International Trade ruled in a Sept. 29 opinion. Judge Mark Barnett wrote that while the Korean government may lose money by fully allocating emissions permits, it doesn't necessarily do so, given that companies that receive a standard allocation can obtain the permits through means that don't involve lining the government's pockets.

The Commerce Department unlawfully failed to offset interest expenses with interest income in calculating the costs of production for shrimp exporter Megaa Moda, the company said in a Sept. 29 complaint filed at the Court of International Trade (Megaa Moda Private Limited v. U.S., CIT # 23-00205).

A defendant in a criminal fraud case shouldn't be allowed to add his criminal attorney to a protective order in a related civil case, DOJ argued in a Sept. 28 motion at the Court of International Trade (U.S. v. Zhe "John" Liu, CIT # 22-00215).

Steel importer NLMK Pennsylvania opposed U.S. Steel Corporation's bid to file an amicus curiae brief in a case on the Commerce Department's refusal to grant the importer exclusion from Section 232 steel and aluminum duties, arguing that there is no role for an amicus at this stage of the case. Telling the court that U.S. Steel is "donning sheep's clothing" in "asking for permission to enter as an amicus," even though the parties "wish to settle their dispute," meaning there is no issue in controversy at play (NLMK Pennsylvania v. United States, CIT # 21-00507).

Antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings at the Commerce Department will be temporarily stopped in the event of a U.S. government shutdown due to a failure in Congress to appropriate funds, lawyers from global firm Veneable wrote. Enforce and Protect Act allegations of AD/CVD evasion also won't be investigated during the shutdown, according to the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America.

The Court of International Trade's "unique and unprecedented interpretation" of an "other" provision in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule comes from a "false premise" that would greatly expand its scope throughout the HTS, importer Nature's Touch Frozen Foods argued in its Sept. 27 opening brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Seeking its preferred classification of frozen fruit mixtures, the importer said the trade court's reading would also "greatly limit operation of the provisions in [General Rules of Interpretation] 3(b) and (c) which are designed to classify mixtures" (Nature's Touch Frozen Foods (West) v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-2093).

The Commerce Department amended its regulations on administrative protective orders and serving documents in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings. The changes make service of public documents, public versions of business proprietary documents and proprietary documents via electronic transmission the default method of alternative service "when service cannot be effectuated on ACCESS or when ACCESS is unavailable."

The Commerce Department incorrectly found that the South Korean government's provision of port-usage rights to countervailing duty respondent Hyundai Steel Co. was a countervailable benefit, the Court of International Trade ruled in a Sept. 26 opinion. Judge M. Miller Baker said that Hyundai built the port in exchange for the right to collect third-party fees, so the provision of port-usage rights might not be a benefit but rather a payment for "consideration," as used in contract law terms.

The Commerce Department properly hit exporter SeAH Steel Corp. with adverse facts available due to its failure to submit information on its use of the Korean Export-Import Bank Performance Guarantee program prior to the countervailing duty investigation period, the Court of International Trade ruled in a Sept. 26 opinion.