The Commerce Department has published the final results of its countervailing duty administrative review on certain new pneumatic off-the-road tires from India (C-533-870). The agency calculated new CVD cash deposit rates for the 29 companies under review, making changes from its preliminary results. These final results will be used to set final assessments of CVD on importers for entries during calendar year 2022.

Exporter Shelter Forest International Acquisition filed a reply brief at the Court of International Trade on Oct. 15, arguing that the U.S. and petitioner Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood failed to justify the Commerce Department's rejection of the company's new factual information in a circumvention proceeding on Vietnamese hardwood plywood. Shelter Forest said both the government and the petitioner didn't address "important past judicial precedent" (Shelter Forest International Acquisition v. United States, CIT Consol. # 23-00144)

AD/CVD petitioner Dexstar Wheel Division of Americana Development on Oct. 15 opposed importer Lionshead Specialty Tire and Wheel's motion to amend a preliminary injunction in an antidumping and countervailing duty evasion case on steel trailer wheels to allow CBP to liquidate some of its entries. Dexstar said Lionshead failed to show that its entries are the specific type of wheels found by the Commerce Department to be excluded from the AD/CVD orders on the steel trailer wheels from China (Dexter Distribution Group LLC v. U.S., CIT Consol. # 24-00019).

A U.S. District Court judge issued an emergency temporary restraining order Thursday that blocks Florida Surgeon General John Ladapo from acting against local TV stations that run an ad supporting abortion rights. “To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid,” said the order from Mark Walker, chief judge for the North District of Florida. The order said the state's Department of Health may take no further action to “coerce, threaten, or intimate repercussions directly or indirectly to television stations, broadcasters, or other parties” for running a campaign ad that advocates protecting abortion rights.

Mississippi’s social media age-verification law doesn’t violate the First Amendment because it regulates online conduct, not speech, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) argued Thursday before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (docket 24-60341) (see 2409260053). NetChoice won a preliminary injunction against the law from the U.S. District Court for Southern Mississippi in July (see [Ref:2407160038). Fitch is appealing to lift the injunction. Mississippi argued Thursday that the district court failed to fully review all applications of HB-1126 through a “demanding facial analysis.” The new law requires “commercially reasonable” efforts on age verification, parental consent and harm-mitigation strategies, said Fitch in her reply brief: “Those requirements pose no facial First Amendment problem.” She argued the law applies to interactive functions on platforms and harmful conduct. “That focus does not regulate speech.”

The Commerce Department has published the final results of its countervailing duty administrative review on large diameter welded pipe from Turkey (C-489-834). These final results will be used to set final assessments of CV duties on importers for subject merchandise entered during calendar year 2022.

The Commerce Department has published the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from South Korea (A-580-891). Commerce made some changes to the calculations it used in its preliminary results, and arrived at a 0.85% AD rate for POSCO and its affiliated company POSCO International Corp., the only company under review, lower than the preliminary 1.03% AD rate.

The Commerce Department will consider a potential new exemption from antidumping and countervailing duties for certain small, low-wattage, off-grid solar cells attached to an aluminum extrusion, it said in a trio of notices initiating changed circumstances reviews.

A domestic trade group for catfish farmers brought a motion for judgment Oct. 15 before the Court of International Trade arguing that the Commerce Department should have at least applied partial adverse facts available to a mandatory respondent in its 2020-21 review of frozen fish fillets from Vietnam (Catfish Farmers of America v. U.S., CIT # 24-00082).

The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register Oct. 17 on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):