The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
Sanctions attorney Alexis Early has joined BCLP as a partner in the Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced. Early's practice centers on economic sanctions, export controls, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and "other emerging areas of international trade law," it said.
The Court of International Trade on Sept. 3 sustained the Commerce Department's application of its quarterly cost methodology to analyze exporter Officine Tecnosider's sales during the 2020-21 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on steel plate from Italy. Judge Claire Kelly said Commerce adequately explained its approach, which stemmed from difficulties using Tecnosider's U.S. sales to analyze correlations between sales and costs of production, and why it "produces reasonable and reliable results."
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.
Anne Fisher, a former official with the Bureau of Industry and Security's chief counsel office, has joined Hogan Lovells' international trade and investment practice, the firm said. Fisher, who left BIS in July after first joining in October 2022, will advise on U.S. export control laws, economic sanctions, customs, foreign investment and other issues. She was at Hogan Lovells before going to BIS.
The Commerce Department lacked authority under its regulations to rescind the administrative reviews of two Chinese wood moulding exporters "solely due to a lack of suspended entries," the Court of International Trade held on Sept. 5. Judge Jane Restani said Commerce's regulation, 19 C.F.R. Section 351.213(d)(3), only allows for rescission if there were no entries of the subject merchandise, adding that the regulation doesn't "include or imply a requirement that these entries be suspended."
Stephanie Connor left her position as assistant director of the Office of Foreign Asset Control's Policy Division to join Holland & Knight's international trade group. Connor, who first joined OFAC in 2022 as an assistant chief counsel, will advise on OFAC sanctions issues, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. regulations, and more.
The U.S. charged Armenian national Kamo Kirakosyan this week with violating export controls after DOJ said he participated in a conspiracy to illegally export semiconductor manufacturing items from the U.S. to Russia through Armenia.
The Commerce Department appropriately resorted to total adverse facts available against countervailing duty respondent Pastificio Gentile in the 2021 CVD review of Italian pasta, for failing to report all its affiliated companies, the Court of International Trade held in a decision made public Sept. 3. However, Judge Mark Barnett remanded the review for Commerce to explain the legal basis under which the agency decided to countervail programs it verified were unused during the period of review as part of the AFA treatment.
Jennifer Kennedy Gellie, former chief of DOJ's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section in the National Security Division, has joined Pillsbury's international trade group. Gellie left DOJ in January after nearly a decade with the agency, where she worked on cases involving export controls, sanctions, corporate crime and other similar issues. Pillsbury said she will help clients "navigate enforcement and compliance for sanctions, export-control, Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and trade matters."