Importer PF America dropped another of its cases seeking an exclusion from Section 301 China tariffs for its vinyl tile flooring entries on Jan. 14 at the Court of International Trade. Recently, the importer voluntarily dismissed two other cases it brought seeking similar exclusions (see 2509300016). PF America entered the goods under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings 3916.20.0020 and 9903.88.17, though CBP classified the goods under subheadings 3916.20.0091 and 9903.88.02, subjecting the flooring to Section 301 duties (PF America v. United States, CIT # 22-00020).
The Court of International Trade on Jan. 14 confirmed that the government's stipulation regarding the availability of refunds from tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act "applies to all current and future similarly situated plaintiffs."
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated on Jan. 5 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
Importer Cyber Power Systems erred in analyzing whether its cables fit under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 8544.42.90, which provides for cables "of a kind used for telecommunications," by only looking to the "device and industry in which" its cables are used, the U.S. argued (Cyber Power Systems (USA) v. United States, CIT # 21-00200).
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated on Dec. 19 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
The U.S. declined to prosecute a criminal trade fraud case against global plastic resin distributor MGI International and its subsidiaries Global Plastics and Marco Polo International, DOJ announced on Dec. 18. The agency agreed to credit a $6.8 million payment made by MGI to settle a civil case against the company for knowingly failing to pay customs duties on plastic resin entries from China in its decision not to proceed with a criminal investigation for the same conduct.
Ceratizit USA, a North Carolina-based tungsten carbide distributor, agreed to pay $54.4 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by "knowingly and improperly failing to pay duties owed on tungsten carbide products" from China, DOJ announced.
The U.S. agreed to liquidate hoverboards imported by 3BTech under duty-free Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 8711.60.000 and exclude the goods from Section 301 China tariffs under secondary subheading 9903.88.17. 3BTech and the U.S. filed a stipulated judgment in the importer's test case on the issue, which resolves the spat in favor of 3BTech (3BTech v. United States, CIT # 21-00026).
Attorneys at Grunfeld Desiderio filed an application for a temporary restraining order last week against the liquidation of entries in various cases that were assessed tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In its response filed on Dec. 16, the U.S. repeatedly cited the Court of International Trade's recent decision to deny an injunction against liquidation in other cases seeking IEEPA tariff refunds on the grounds that the trade court has the power to order reliquidation of finally liquidated entries in Section 1581(i) cases (see 2512150029) (Strato Technology Solutions v. United States, CIT Consol. # 25-00322).
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