The trade court asked both parties in a case for supplemental briefing addressing whether note 3 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule’s section XVI should be applied to a supermodule that goes into power plants. The U.S. claims that the product should be analyzed under note 2, which it said was mutually exclusive with note 3; the importer, HyAxiom, advocates for interpretation under note 3 (HyAxiom v. U.S., CIT # 21-00057).
A number of Canadian lumber exporters moved for judgment upon the agency record in a softwood lumber case April 5. So did defendant-intervenors led by a domestic petitioner group, which said that the Commerce Department should have subtracted countervailing duty costs from the exporters’ U.S. prices (Government of Canada v. U.S., CIT Consol. # 23-00187).
Importer Cambridge Isotope Laboratories told the Court of International Trade April 9 that following consultations with petitioner Committee for Fair Trade in Ammonium Sulfate, it has filed a new changed circumstances review request with the Commerce Department (Cambridge Isotope Laboratories v. U.S., CIT # 23-00080).
The Commerce Department reversed its scope ruling on modified vertical shaft engines with horizontal crankshafts on remand at the Court of International Trade, now finding that the engines don't fit under the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on vertical shaft engines between 99cc and up to 225cc from China (Zhejiang Amerisun Technology Co. v. U.S., CIT # 23-00011).
The Court of International Trade on April 11 sent back the Commerce Department's duty drawback adjustment to exporter Assan Aluminyum, which led to a de minimis antidumping duty rate in the AD investigation on common alloy aluminum sheet from Turkey. Judge Gary Katzmann said it "appears that" Commerce's methodology "impermissibly increased Assan's export price by more than 'the amount of any import duties imposed by the country of exportation which have been rebated."
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The U.S. on April 9 requested that the Court of International Trade not allow plaintiffs to add a new party in a case contesting the final results of the Commerce Department's fourth administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain cold-drawn mechanical tubing of carbon and alloy steel from Italy (ArcelorMittal Tubular Products v. U.S., CIT # 24-00039).
An exporter of vehicle side bars said April 8 that Section 301 tariff exclusions shouldn't necessarily be considered princpal use provisions, but should instead be analyzed as either principal use, eo nomine or actual use provisions on a case-by-case basis because no published guidance singles out a specific method (Keystone Automotive Operations v. U.S., CIT # 21-00215).
On April 8, an importer sought to withdraw its motion to compel the government to give it certain unredacted documents and the addresses of several former CBP employees “relevant” to its case (see 2310160061) (Lutron Electronics Co. v. U.S., CIT # 22-00264).
The Court of International Trade on April 10 rejected the preferred tariff classification of notebooks with calendars from both CBP and importer Blue Sky the Color of Imagination, slotting the products under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 4820.10.20.10 as "diaries." Judge Jane Restani explained that the court should prefer readings of the HTS that establish "conformity" across both the English and French translations of the Harmonized System.