The Court of International Trade on April 15 denied importer Under the Weather's motion for leave to amend its complaint to add a claim regarding CBP's prior tariff treatment of its imported pop-up tent "pods." Judge Timothy Reif said the proposed amended complaint "was filed after undue delay and is futile." The importer received duty-free treatment for the pods from 2010-18, but that ultimately ended in 2020 following an HQ ruling from CBP. The trade court previously rejected a claim from Under the Weather that CBP had to allow for a notice-and-comment period with the HQ ruling, since the agency previously accorded the pods a given tariff treatment. Under the Weather then tried to amend its complaint to newly cite two alleged examinations of the pods by CBP. Reif rejected the motion, finding that the importer waited too long to raise the issue and that the issue would be futile, since it "would not survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim."

Court of International Trade Judge Timothy Reif sustained in part and remanded in part the Commerce Department’s final determination in its review of chlorinated isocyanurate from China. He affirmed the agency's consideration of Romania as a potential surrogate, saying that a delay in the submission of Romania as a surrogate hadn’t rendered that submission untimely. He also sustained Commerce’s usual practice with regard to surrogate selection, citing Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, and its decision to exclude Mexico as a potential surrogate. But he remanded Commerce's finding that calcium hypochlorite and sodium hypochlorite are “comparable” to chlorinated isos, saying clorinated isos aren’t “industrial commodity chemicals” (Bio-Lab v. U.S., CIT Consol. # 24-00024).

A group of five companies filed a complaint at the Court of International Trade challenging the president's authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The complaint, drafted by the conservative Liberty Justice Center, says President Donald Trump's use of IEEPA to impose "reciprocal" tariffs "exceeds his statutory authority." The lawsuit adds that even if IEEPA grants this authority, it amounts to an "unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority." The lawsuit is the third of its kind to challenge the use of IEEPA to impose tariffs but is the first to be filed at the trade court.

The Court of International Trade on April 10 sent back the Commerce Department's scope ruling excluding calcium glycinate from the scope of the antidumping duty orders on glycine from India, Japan and Thailand and the countervailing duty orders on glycine from India and China. Judge Joseph Laroski said Commerce acted "unreasonably" by failing to analyze whether the glycinate is a form of crude or technical glycine, notwithstanding the agency's finding that the glycinate is a precursor of dried crystaline glycine. Laroski also said the agency acted "unreasonably" in failing to consider information in the scope ruling application and an International Trade Commission report undermining its conclusion.

The Court of International Trade in a pair of decisions on April 3 remanded both the 2019 and 2020 reviews of the countervailing duty order on multilayered wood flooring from China. In both decisions, Judge Timothy Reif sent back the Commerce Department's use of UN Comtrade data in setting a benchmark price in assessing the provision of plywood for less than adequate remuneration and the agency's use of adverse facts available to find that certain input suppliers are government "authorities." On the second point, Reif said Commerce appropriately found that the Chinese government's submissions were insufficient but that the agency didn't give the Chinese government proper notice or opportunity to remedy these deficiencies. In the 2019 review, Reif also remanded Commerce's benchmark price for veeners, though the judge sustained the benchmark for inland freight and use of AFA to find use of China's Export Buyer's Credit Program.

The Court of International Trade on April 1 sustained parts and remanded parts of the Commerce Department's 2020-21 review of the countervailing duty order on phosphate fertilizers from Morocco. Judge Timothy Stanceu rejected Commerce's finding that Morocco's program for relief from tax fines and penalties is specific to OCP. The judge sustained the remaining issues in the case, which included Commerce's decision not to find a benefit from the provision of mining rights by the Moroccan government, its decision not to countervail the provision of port services, its use of adverse facts available for respondent OCP's failure to report a payroll tax refund, and its ability to request information from OCP on unspecified "other benefits" it received.

The Court of International Trade upheld parts and sent back parts of the Commerce Department's 2017 review of the countervailing duty order on multilayered wood flooring from China.

The Court of International Trade on March 27 sustained in part and remanded in part the Commerce Department's 2018 review of the countervailing duty order on multilayered wood flooring from China. Judge Timothy Reif upheld Commerce's calculation of a benchmark price for plywood using a weighted average of U.N. Comtrade and International Tropical Timber Organization data, the agency's inclusion of respondents' backboard purchases in the calculation of a benefit from the provision of veneers for less than adequate remuneration, and Commerce's decision to add a 17% value-added tax rate to the benchmark price for various inputs. Reif also upheld the use of adverse facts available against respondent Baroque Timber's use of China's Export Buyer's Credit Program, though he granted the government's voluntary remand request to reconsider the use of such facts against respondent Jiangsu Senmao Bamboo Wood Industry Co., since the company submitted non-use certifications for all of its U.S. buyers.

The Court of International Trade on March 27 held that the International Trade Commission's "practice of automatically redacting questionnaire responses" in injury proceedings is "unlawful." Judge Stephen Vaden held that the practice is "inconsistent with statute, regulation, precedent, and common sense." The judge said the practice leads to treating "publicly available information as confidential," treating the same information inconsistently based only on how the ITC obtained it, and impermissibly designating information as confidential unilaterally. Vaden went through various information dubbed confidential in an injury proceeding on phosphate fertilizers from Morocco and Russia, finding that all but one piece of it was improperly redacted.

Court of International Trade Judge Gary Katzmann on March 27 denied a motion to dismiss a U.S. claim against German thermal paper exporter Koehler Oberkirch and its affiliate, Koehler Paper, for nearly $200 million in duties unpaid by the now-defunct Papierfabrik August Koehler. He said that the trade court has personal jurisdiction over the case because Koehler Oberkirch is the successor-in-interest of Papierfabrik August Koehler; meanwhile, Koehler Paper, due to the U.S. fraud allegation, is the successor-in-interest of Koehler Oberkirch (United States v. Koehler Oberkirch, CIT # 24-00014).