The Court of International Trade on Aug. 9 granted importer Blockstream USA Corp.'s bids to dismiss three of its own customs cases on the classification of its cryptocurrency miners. The court previously dismissed one of the cases for failure to prosecute after Blockstream didn't move to extend the time for the case to remain on the customs case management calendar. This dismissal was set aside after the company asked the court to help correct the error (see 2404050029). Counsel for Blockstream didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on why the company moved to dismiss the cases (Blockstream Services USA v. U.S., CIT #s, 22-00101, 23-00018) (Blockstream USA Corp. v. United States, CIT # 20-00149).
Countervailing duty petitioner The Mosaic Co. and respondent OCP each moved the Court of International Trade for judgment last week in a combined suit on the first review of the CVD order on phosphate fertilizers from Morocco (The Mosaic Co. v. U.S., CIT Consol. # 23-00246).
An exporter and a petitioner each filed an opposition to the Commerce Department’s final results upon remand for an antidumping duty review on Indian-origin steel pipe, in which the department provided a strong defense of adverse facts available as a tool to combat the problem of noncooperative unaffiliated suppliers (see 2407100037) (Garg Tube Export v. U.S., CIT # 21-00169).
Antidumping duty petitioner American Brass Rod Fair Trade Coalition told the Court of International Trade that the Commerce Department erred in making an adjustment for AD respondent Rajhans Metal's claimed work-in-process (WIP) and in valuing the company's scrap offset. Filing a complaint Aug. 9, the petitioner contested Rajhans' 2.19% AD rate set in the investigation on brass rod from India (American Brass Rod Fair Trade Coalition v. U.S., CIT # 24-00119).
Importer Phoenix Metal Co. will appeal a June Court of International Trade decision sustaining CBP's finding that the company evaded the antidumping and countervailing duties on cast iron soil pipe from China by transshipping the pipe through Cambodia. In its decision, the court rejected Phoenix's due process claims, which faulted CBP for failing to notify the company that it was subject to an interim Enforce and Protect Act investigation (see 2406100027). The trade court said the importer failed to allege that it suffered specific-enough harm by being subject to the interim measures without adequate notice. According to the Aug. 9 notice of appeal, Phoenix will take the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Phoenix Metal v. U.S., CIT # 23-00048).
The Commerce Department "under protest" notified an Indonesian polyester textured yarn exporter of specific deficiencies in a questionnaire response it provided and gave it the chance to address them. As a result, the department reduced the exporter’s dumping margin from 26.07% to 9.20% (PT. Asia Pacific Fibers v. United States, CIT # 22-00007).
Importer Acquisition 362, doing business as Strategic Import Supply, filed a complaint at the Court of International Trade on Aug. 8 claiming CBP failed to provide the company with a "statement of reasons" for the denial of its protest concerning its passenger vehicle and light truck tires from China. The company said protest denial was improper because it centered on a message from the Commerce Department, which the importer wasn't given access to (Acquisition 362, LLC dba Strategic Import Supply v. U.S., CIT # 24-00149).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Russian exporter Industrial Group Phosphorite told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that the Commerce Department contradicted the countervailing duty statute in finding that the Russian government's provision of natural gas was de facto specific. Filing a reply brief on Aug. 7, the exporter said Commerce can't find that the agrochemical industry is the "predominant user of natural gas" by only comparing its usage among a subset of natural gas users as opposed to all natural gas users (The Mosaic Co. v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 24-1593).
The Court of International Trade on Aug. 8 denied exporter Habas Sinai ve Tibbi Gazlar Isihsal Endustrisi's motions to intervene in an antidumping suit and secure an injunction on its entries because its entries have "already been liquidated." Judge Jane Restani said that because the company failed to secure an injunction from the court prior to the liquidation of its entries, the court can't provide the relief the company seeks.