FCC commissioners held their monthly meeting Wednesday at the agency’s new headquarters for the first time, making it the first in-person meeting for commissioners since the COVID-19 pandemic caused the agency to shift to remote work. "We hope to use today's open meeting as a first step toward welcoming the agency and the public into our new building," Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said at the meeting, which was also in part held virtually. Media and the public couldn't attend in person.

Few changes are likely to be made to the FCC’s draft Further NPRM on pole replacement disputes and notice of inquiry on digital discrimination in broadband access, aides told us. The items are expected to be unanimously approved during Wednesday’s commissioners' meeting.

"Virtually every substantial issue" raised by plaintiffs in an antidumping duty challenge led by Ellwood City Forge Company still remains following a voluntary remand proceeding from the Commerce Department, the plaintiffs argued in a revised March 11 motion for judgment at the Court of International Trade. In particular, Ellwood argued Commerce's remand left unaddressed the issue of Commerce's failure to conduct verification in the antidumping duty investigation on forged steel end blocks from India (Ellwood City Forge Company v. United States, CIT #21-00007).

Telecom-focused lawmakers told us they want more information before committing to pursue more money for additional funding for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program to repay U.S. carriers for removing from their networks equipment made by Huawei, ZTE and other companies deemed a national security risk. Eight major communications groups wrote the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees earlier this month to press for additional “rip and replace” funding (see 2203030074).

Telecommunications Industry Association representatives encouraged the FCC to act on rules for secure equipment in carrier networks, in a call with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “TIA stressed the importance of the FCC acting in concert with other federal agencies and branches of government when making determinations on national security concerns raised by … vendors, as opposed to the Commission making these determinations on their own,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-232.

CBP erred when making its finding that importer CEK Group evaded the antidumping duty order on steel wire garment hangers from China by transshipping them through Thailand, CEK said in a March 11 complaint at the Court of International Trade. Among other things, CEK alleged in its 12-count complaint that CBP failed to address all of the arguments raised by the importer, made its decision without substantial evidence of transshipment and improperly refused to grant CEK access to business confidential information in the case (CEK Group v. United States, CIT #22-00082).

The Court of International Trade remanded an antidumping duty evasion case, in a March 11 order for CBP to fully consider the record. The agency requested the remand after it found out plaintiff Norca Industrial Company was not privy to documents relating to a third-party's visit to a Vietnamese manufacturer's production site. Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves limited the remand to the issue of the whole record and not the other issues raised by Norca.

The U.S. announced a set of new export controls and sanctions against Russia last week, including new restrictions on luxury goods and full blocking sanctions on Russian government officials and bank executives. The measures, outlined in a March 11 executive order, also include new banking and financing-related restrictions meant to further cut Russia’s economy off from the global financial system and target Russian oligarchs.

The Court of International Trade remanded an Enforce and Protect Act challenge, per the U.S.' request, to give CBP a chance to fix the record after it found out that parties to the investigation weren't given certain documents in the investigation. The case involves a CBP investigation of allegations that Norca Industrial Co. evaded antidumping duties on carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings from China by transshipping its imports through Vietnam. The documents include those relating to a third party's photos and videos from a site visit to manufacturer BW Fittings' Vietnam facility. Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves granted the remand solely for the "full consideration of the complete record" and declined to "opine" on other issues raised by Norca.

The FCC is considering creating a voluntary “designated hitter” plan to provide multilingual emergency information during disasters, said broadcast and emergency alerting officials. Under such plans long touted by the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, English-language stations in a market would use their broadcast to host foreign language emergency information translated by local foreign language stations if those stations have been knocked off the air. Broadcasters argued that such proposals are impractical and unlikely to work, but in an ex parte letter filed Thursday MMTC said the system is the only choice. “After almost two decades of consideration, no one has offered a better alternative,” said MMTC President Robert Branson.