The Commerce Department can calculate the separate rate respondent's dumping margin by averaging an adverse facts available rate and a de minimis rate in an antidumping duty review, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said Jan. 10. Upholding the Court of International Trade's decision, the Federal Circuit said the separate rates in the past AD reviews trended upward, justifying the 41.025% dumping rate for the separate rate respondents.

The U.S.Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit shouldn't strike down President Donald Trump's extension of Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs onto "derivative" products made beyond procedural deadlines since the tariffs had a positive impact on the U.S. industry, The American Steel Nail Coalition said in Jan. 10 proposed amicus brief. The coalition asked the court for leave to file the amicus brief in a bid to broaden the defense of the president's tariff action. The proposed amicus further said that this issue has already been decided following the Federal Circuit's decision in the key case Transpacific Steel v. U.S. (PrimeSource Building Products v. United States, Fed. Cir. #21-2066).

CBP initiated two antidumping and countervailing duty evasion investigations on cast iron soil pipe fittings (CISPF) from China under suspicion that imports from certain companies were evading the orders by way of transshipment through Cambodia. The Cambodian-registered company Little Fireflies International was implicated in both of the investigations as the importer of record in each case but also as the source of the covered merchandise for another importer named in one of the investigations, Granite Plumbing. CBP imposed interim measures in both investigations after finding a reasonable suspicion that Little Fireflies and Granite Plumbing entered merchandise covered by the ADD/CVD orders through evasion.

BMW North America is unable to claim substitution unused merchandise drawback on motor vehicles owned and exported by BMW Manufacturing Co., CBP said in a recently released ruling dated Nov. 30. BMW NA planned to "substitute the exported motor vehicles owned by BMW MC for motor vehicles imported and duty paid by BMW NA" and asked for CBP input on whether that is allowed.

A clear reading of the law allows for an importer to bring in goods deemed "drug paraphernalia" federally if they are legal at the state level, Washington-based importer Keirton USA told the Court of International Trade in its Jan. 5 motion for judgment. Seeking to get back its imports of cannabis processors from CBP, Keirton told the trade court that the exemption allowing for the import of drug paraphernalia where it is legal at the state level is "plain and unambiguous and must be applied accordingly" (Keirton USA, Inc. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CIT #21-00452).

The Department of Justice opposed logistics company Lineage Logistics Holdings' bid to appear in a case over Jones Act violations, arguing that the proposed amicus brief filing does not raise any new issues, instead giving "additional perspectives on arguments already advanced." Urging the court to deny the proposed brief entry into the case, DOJ told the court to look at other pleadings "for more detailed and thorough exploration of the issues" (Kloosterboer International Forwarding LLC, et al. v. United States, D. Alaska #3:21-00198).

The Commerce Department found in Jan. 4 remand results that dual-stenciled standard pipe and line pipe aren't to be included within the scope of the antidumping duty order on circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Thailand. Flipping its position following remand instructions from the Court of International Trade, Commerce nonetheless expressed a series of reservations over its decision to do so, dubbing the remand order "problematic."

Section 232 allows the president to expand tariff action beyond procedural time limits laid out in the law, as he did when he expanded the tariffs to cover steel and aluminum derivatives over a year after the tariffs were initially imposed, the Department of Justice told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in its Jan. 3 brief. Relying heavily on a recent CAFC opinion on an increase of tariffs on Turkish steel, DOJ said the president is allowed to expand Section 232 tariffs to products beyond the ones laid out in the original commerce secretary report as long as it's part of the original "plan of action" (PrimeSource Building Products v. U.S., Fed. Cir. #21-2066).

The Commerce Department properly denied antidumping duty respondent Icdas a duty drawback adjustment due to the fact that the respondent gave no evidence that its Inward Processing Certificates (i.e., requests to gain the drawback) were closed, the Department of Justice told the Court of International Trade in a Dec. 30 brief. DOJ argued that the denial doesn't cut against past practice, and even if it did, would be a reasonable position to hold (Icdas Celik Enerji Tersane ve Ulasim Sanayi v. U.S., CIT #21-00306).

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.