Importer Spector & Co. asked the Court of International Trade for relief from an order dismissing the case for lack of prosecution. The trade court dismissed the case, which is challenging CBP's classification of Spector's notebooks under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 4820.10.20.60, since the suit was added to the customs case management calendar and not removed before the expiration of the "applicable period of time of removal" (see 2505050001) (Spector & Co. v. U.S., CIT # 23-00087).
The U.S. on May 12 opposed four members of the Blackfeet Nation tribe's bid for an injunction against tariffs imposed on Canada under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, pending the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit's resolution of the tribal members' appeal of a Montana district court's order transferring the case to the Court of International Trade (Susan Webber v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 9th Cir. # 25-2717).
Twelve U.S. states, led by Oregon, filed a supplemental brief in their lawsuit against all tariff action taken under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In it, the states said the Court of International Trade should enjoin enforcement of the IEEPA tariffs, set aside the agency decisions implementing the tariffs and declare the IEEPA tariffs "unlawful" (The State of Oregon v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00077).
The Court of International Trade on May 15 held that a product is "imported" for duty drawback purposes when it's admitted into a foreign trade zone and not when entered for domestic consumption. Judge Timothy Reif said the definition of "importation" found in both the dictionary and Supreme Court rulings distinguishes "importation" and "entry." The judge added that when Congress passed the current drawback statute, it specifically decided the five-year period to make a drawback claim runs from the date of importation and not the date of entry. As a result, the court dismissed importer King Maker Marketing's case challenging CBP's rejection of its substitution unused merchandise drawback claims for being untimely.
DOJ is revising its corporate enforcement policy to encourage more voluntary disclosures, including by outlining a clearer path for self-reporting companies to avoid criminal prosecutions, the agency said. It’s also adding trade and sanctions to the list of “priority areas” for its whistleblower awards program.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
A number of importers self-describing as “small businesses in various fields” and led by Princess Awesome, a girls’ clothing seller, added a third amicus curiae brief to the growing number opposing President Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to levy tariffs (see 2505120057 and 2504240028). They said they filed to “emphasize the irreparable harm caused by the President’s arbitrary and ever-changing tariff policy” (V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00066).
Importer Amoena argued May 9 again that their mastectomy brassieres should have been classified as medical accessories, not “other” brassieres, saying that “a straightforward ‘visual review’” of the products wasn’t enough on its own to classify them. It also asked the trade court to accept certain apparently unaddressed facts on the record (Amoena USA Corp. v. United States, CIT #20-00100).
Trade Law Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York: