The World Trade Organization on Oct. 8 formally began the process for appointing the next director-general, the trade body announced. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, whose term ends Aug. 31, plans to seek reappointment. Member nations have until Nov. 8 to submit nominations, after which candidates will have a three-month window ending Feb. 8 to "engage with members and present their qualifications." A choice is expected April 8.
Jacob Kopnick
Jacob Kopnick, Associate Editor, is a reporter for Trade Law Daily and its sister publications Export Compliance Daily and International Trade Today. He joined the Warren Communications News team in early 2021 covering a wide range of topics including trade-related court cases and export issues in Europe and Asia. Jacob's background is in trade policy, having spent time with both CSIS and USTR researching international trade and its complexities. Jacob is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Public Policy.
The following lawsuit was recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 8 granted importer HH Associates US' voluntary dismissal of its customs case. The importer brought the suit in September 2023 to contest CBP's classification of its glassware imports under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 7013.37.2090, dutiable at 22.5%. HH Associates said the goods should receive duty-free treatment under the same subheading. Counsel for the importer didn't respond to a request for comment (HH Associates US v. United States, CIT # 23-00200).
The U.S. swapped its principal counsel in a scope case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on the antidumping duty order on butt-weld pipe fittings from China. Judges Timothy Dyk, Haldane Mayer and Jimmie Reyna granted the government's bid to replace senior trial counsel Meen Geu Oh with DOJ trial attorney Anne Delmare. Oh recently argued the case before the appellate court during oral argument held in April (see 2404050066) (Vandewater International v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 23-1093).
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 7 denied importer Interglobal Forest's application for attorney's fees in its suit challenging CBP's affirmative finding of evasion of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on hardwood plywood from China. Judge Mark Barnett said that Interglobal wasn't a "prevailing party" in the action because the evasion determination was reversed without admitting to an agency error and only after the Commerce Department reversed its scope finding after separate legal action at the trade court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 7 issued its mandate in a case on the 2015-16 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on steel nails from Taiwan (see 2408150020). In August, CAFC sustained the Commerce Department's use of adverse facts available against exporter Unicatch Industrial Co. for failing to submit adequate cost reconciliation information in the review. The court said Unicatch failed to act to the best of its ability in failing to correct the reconciliation information (Pro-Team Coil Nail Enterprise v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 22-2241).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 4 issued its mandate in a case on the president's ability to make trade-restrictive modifications to Section 201 safeguards. In August, the court partially reconsidered its initial decision finding that the president can make such adjustments (see 2408130019). The court conducted a de novo review of the applicable statute in its decision following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which said courts can't defer to agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes. The appellate court issued its mandate in the case after the Solar Energy Industries Association didn't appeal the matter to the Supreme Court (Solar Energy Industries Association v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 22-1392).
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 4 sent back the Commerce Department's decision in the 2020-21 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on light-walled rectangular pipe and tube from Mexico to include exporter Tecnicas de Fluidos' (TEFLU's) "further processed" products.
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 7 sent a customs classification dispute on truck steps to a bench trial after finding that the undisputed facts are insufficient for conducting a principal use analysis on whether the products are "side protective attachments." Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves held that while a Section 301 exclusion for "side protective attachments" is a principal use provision, and not a provision for an individual product, the court can't at this time properly assess the imports at issue under a principal use framework.
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 7 set a 14-day deadline for the U.S. to file for a voluntary remand in an Enforce and Protect Act case originally brought by exporter Kingtom Aluminio. The parties in a recent joint status report told the court to lift the stay on the case and that the government intends to file a voluntary remand motion (Kingtom Aluminio v. United States, CIT Consol. #22-00072).