The Court of International Trade on March 16 refused to accept a second motion to dismiss from Zhe "John" Liu, a defendant in a penalty case, since it "is not a motion provided for by the rules of the court." Judge Jane Restani ruled that Liu's "excuse" for filing the second motion -- that "something signficant" intervened -- "is not well-taken." The trade court instead accepted Liu's first motion to dismiss, and told Liu to make sure future filings align with court rules (United States v. Zhe "John" Liu, CIT # 22-00215).
CBP failed to consider the "double transformation" of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) chips as inputs into PET film from Bahrain, instead treating the chips as non-originating material for purposes of the minimum value content calculation, Bahrainian importer JBF told the Court of International Trade in a March 16 complaint. The suit challenges CBP's denial of duty-free treatment under the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement for goods manufactured by JBF and CBP's refusal to deduct a post-import rebate from the price paid for PET chips, which are a component of PET film (JBF Bahrain v. U.S., CIT # 23-00067).
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
Industrial shredders imported by Vecoplan are classifiable as grinding and crushing tools under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule because the shredding operations break down material into small fragments and reduce the size of material by means of impacting the waste material, the importer argued in a March 15 motion (Vecoplan v. United States, CIT # 20-00126).
Exporter China Custom Manufacturing will file a motion for a rehearing and seek en banc review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision finding the company's solar panel mounts do not qualify for the "finished merchandise" exclusion from the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China, George Tuttle, counsel for CCM, told Trade Law Daily (China Custom Manufacturing Inc. v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 22-1345).
CBP correctly classified a supermodule for use in hydrogen fuel-cell powerplants as parts of electric generators rather than as a water gas generator, DOJ argued in a March 15 motion at the Court of International Trade (HyAxium v. United States, CIT # 21-00057).
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
DOJ has asked the Court of International Trade permission to add AB MA Distribution Corporation as a defendant alongside Zhe "John" Liu and GL Paper Distribution in an amended complaint in a penalty case at the Court of International Trade. AB MA is allegedly a shell company through which Liu continued an illegal transshipment scheme to import Chinese-origin wire hangers through Malaysia, India and Thailand in order to evade antidumping and countervailing duties (see 2302070047) (United States v. Zhe "John" Liu, CIT # 22-00215).
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CBP properly classified Shamrock Building Materials' steel conduit tubing imports from Mexico as steel tubing and not insulated fittings, the Court of International Trade ruled March 13. Judge Timothy Stanceu said the "uncontested facts" show the tubing is not insulated and is therefore subject to 25% Section 232 steel tariffs.