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.
Sandler Travis hired two trade lawyers and an import compliance specialist to expand its trade service offerings, the law firm announced Aug. 23. Lawyer William Marshall will focus on import and supply chain issues while Narges Kahvazadeh will provide legal counsel on export controls and sanctions. Regina Walton, a licensed customs broker, joined the firm as an auditor with a focus on import compliance matters.
The U.S. on Aug. 21 defended its decision on remand to collapse respondent Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy with its affiliated wind tower supplier Windar and Windar's manufacturing subsidies. The government also defended its finding that Siemens Gamesa is a foreign producer and the ultimate 28.55% dumping rate assigned to the company, which was lowered on remand from 73% (see 2406250029) (Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy v. United States, CIT # 21-00449).
Antidumping duty petitioner the Committee Overseeing Action for Lumber International Trade Investigations or Negotiations on Aug. 22 moved to file an amicus brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a case on the Commerce Department's use of the Cohen's d test to detect "masked" dumping. The committee filed the brief in response to arguments from amici led by the Canadian government, which invoked various academic literature on the use of the test (Mid Continent Steel & Wire v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 24-1556).
Latvia citizen Oleg Chistyakov appeared in a U.S. court Aug. 21 after being extradited from Latvia to face charges that he violated U.S. export controls by shipping "sophisticated avionics equipment" to Russian companies, DOJ announced.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
Venezuela citizen George Semerene Quintero pleaded guilty Aug. 20 to conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions on Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), the Venezuelan state-owned oil company where he worked, DOJ announced.
ITC Continues to Cumulate Russian, Argentinian, Mexican and Some South Korean OCTG in Injury Finding
Cumulation occurs on the date a petition is filed, not when the International Trade Commission votes, the ITC claimed Aug. 16 in opposition to a Court of International Trade ruling. It said this had been established by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Tenaris Bay City, et al. v. United States, CIT Consol. # 22-00344).
Aydin Akgun, a former licensing officer and chief in the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s licensing division, has joined Ferrari & Associates as director of licensing and compliance, the law firm announced this week. Akgun, who worked at OFAC for more than 20 years, will help advise clients on various OFAC licensing issues, the firm said.
Nonprofit advocacy group Texans for Israel and four of its members filed suit earlier this month to contest the constitutionality of President Joe Biden's executive order allowing for sanctions against those who undermine "peace, security, and stability in the West Bank" (Texans for Israel v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, N.D. Tex. # 2:24-00167).