The Commerce Department made preliminary affirmative antidumping duty determinations that imports of paper plates from China (A-570-164), Thailand (A-549-849) and Vietnam (A-552-839), are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. The agency will generally impose AD cash deposit requirements on entries of subject merchandise beginning on Sept. 5, 2024, though cash deposit requirements take effect retroactively for some Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese companies, beginning on June 7, 2024.
The International Trade Commission and an exporter of aluminum extruders Aug. 29 each opposed a petitioner’s motion for judgment that claimed the ITC had altered usually reliable data to reach a negligibility finding regarding extrusions from the Dominican Republic. The alteration was both established by law and necessary, they said (U.S. Aluminum Extruders Coalition v. United States, CIT # 23-00270).
The Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission published the following Federal Register notices Sept. 4 on AD/CVD proceedings:
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register Sept. 4 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):
The Commerce Department has published the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on corrosion-resistant steel products from Taiwan (A-583-856). Rates calculated in this review will be used to set assessment rates for importers of subject merchandise from three producers and exporters entered July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
Texas’ social media age-restriction law likely violates the First Amendment, a federal judge ruled Friday, partially blocking the measure and marking a victory for the tech industry (see 2408230014). The Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice sued to block HB-18, which was set to take effect Sunday. The trade associations, which requested a preliminary injunction, met their burden in showing HB-18’s speech restrictions “fail strict scrutiny, are unconstitutionally vague, and are preempted by Section 230,” wrote Judge Robert Pitman, on behalf of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (docket 1:24-cv-00849). The decision enjoins HB-18’s monitoring and filtering provisions, but Pitman found the law’s remaining provisions can take effect because they don’t “unconstitutionally regulate a meaningful amount of constitutionally protected speech.” The court “recognized that this Texas law restricts protected speech in a way that likely violates the First Amendment and that it deserves the most stringent constitutional scrutiny,” said CCIA Chief of Staff Stephanie Joyce. “This ruling will ensure that internet users can continue accessing information and content online while we further prove that this law is unlawful and unconstitutional.”
The Commerce Department has published the final results of its countervailing duty administrative review on common alloy aluminum sheet (aluminum sheet) from China (C-570-074). The agency calculated new CVD cash deposit rates for the Chinese producers and exporters listed below. These final results will be used to set final assessments of CVD on importers for entries Jan. 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022.
The Court of International Trade on Sept. 3 granted Seko Customs Brokerage's bid to voluntarily dismiss its case against CBP's temporary suspension of the brokerage from the Entry Type 86 pilot and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs at the Court of International Trade. Counsel for Seko didn't immediately respond to a request for comment (Seko Customs Brokerage v. United States, CIT # 24-00097).
The Commerce Department soon will suspend liquidation and set antidumping duty cash deposit requirements for imports of paper plates from China, Thailand and Vietnam, it said in a fact sheet Aug. 30. The agency's preliminary determinations set AD rates ranging from zero to 1,039.05% for Chinese companies, from 4.23% to 73.17% for Thai companies, and from zero to 159.79% for Vietnamese companies. Suspension of liquidation is already in effect for China and Vietnam for countervailing duty purposes (see 2407020004). AD suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements for these three countries will take effect for entries on or after the date of publication of the preliminary determinations in the Federal Register, which should occur in the coming days.
California man Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi was sentenced on Aug. 29 to three months in prison for illegally importing an "ancient floor mosaic from Syria depicting the Roman demigod Hercules," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced. Alcharihi was found guilty in June 2023 after a five-day trial of one count of entry of falsely classified imports.