The Customs Surety Coalition called foul on a CBP attempt to collect unpaid antidumping duties eight years after the relevant entries liquidated, saying the “devastating impact on the surety program is obvious,” in a May 20 amicus brief filed in the Court of International Trade. Stepping in to help defend Aegis Security Insurance Co., the coalition argued that if the court were to accept CBP's position, the statute of limitations on duty payments would be eliminated, allowing the agency to use the law to "absurd ends." CSC was joined by its four coalition members -- the International Trade Surety Association, the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, Inc., the Surety & Fidelity Association of American and the Customs Surety Association -- in its brief (United States v. Aegis Security Insurance Co., CIT #20-03628).

The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:

The Supreme Court of the U.S. denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by 24 importers challenging enhanced security fees (ESF) on goods collected by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority. Denying the petition on May 17, the Supreme Court ended the challenge of fees that importers claim cost more than $150 million. To collect the fees, PRPA contracted with Rapiscan Systems Inc., which conducted "non-intrusive scanning of shipping containers" entering Puerto Rico through the Port of San Juan. Despite a federal district court order enjoining Puerto Rico from collecting ESFs from operations not being scanned, Rapiscan, PRPA and Rapiscan's affiliate S2 Services Puerto Rico, continued to collect the ESFs for all cargo, including non-scanned containers. The practice only ended when the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals ordered PRPA to cease and desist from carrying out the collection of ESFs.

Turkish steel exporter Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret said the Commerce Department correctly complied with the Court of International Trade's instructions to drop any adjustment to cost of production based on a particular market situation in the sales-below-cost test in an antidumping duty administrative review. In May 19 comments on Commerce's final remand results, Borusan also said that the agency properly adhered to court instructions by weighing the record evidence applicable to the reduction of Borusan's constructed export price by Section 232 duties paid.

The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:

The Court of International Trade denied a stay of court proceedings in one antidumping challenge brought by South Korean steel exporter SeAH Steel, but it has yet to rule on a motion to stay in separate challenge by the same company. In a May 18 order, Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves shut the door on the possibility of a stay in a case challenging the final results of the 2016-17 antidumping duty administrative review of certain oil country tubular goods from South Korea, but did not comment on a case challenging the 2017-18 administrative review of the same product. In the latter case, Choe-Groves filed a letter last week informing the parties that the court is considering a stay pending a final decision in the appeal of a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit over whether a particular market situation (PMS) existed in South Korea for the subject merchandise during the 2015-16 review period (see 2105140028).

Strike pin anchor importer Midwest Fastener and the Department of Justice signed off on the Commerce Department's remand results in an antidumping duty scope challenge in the Court of International Trade. In a May 19 reply, DOJ acknowledged that neither party challenges the remand results in the case. The original complaint challenged a scope ruling from Commerce that determined Midwest's strike pin anchors were covered by the scope of an antidumping duty order on certain steel nails from China.

A group of surety trade associations' attempt to file an amicus curiae brief in support of American Home Assurance Company in the Court of International Trade hit a snag when the Department of Justice opposed their filing. Though DOJ said it does not normally oppose such requests as an amicus brief, it nonetheless moved to block the brief, arguing it was untimely filed, in a May 19 memo. The surety groups consist of the Customs Surety Association, the Customs Surety Coalition, the International Trade Surety Association, the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, Inc. and the Surety & Fidelity Association of America.

The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:

A case challenging an Enforce and Protect Act determination from aluminum extrusion importer Hialeah Aluminum Supply (see 2104300056)]) was consolidated with a similar case from Global Aluminum Distributor (see 2104280049), according to a May 17 order from the Court of International Trade. Both Hialeah and Global Aluminum argue that CBP's process of determining that the exporters evaded antidumping duties on aluminum extrusions from China violated their Fifth Amendment due process rights and the agency's own regulations.