The U.S. on July 22 moved the Court of International Trade to dismiss Byungmin Chae's challenge to CBP's rejection of his appeal of a question on the April 2018 customs broker license exam. The Nebraska resident, who ultimately fell one question shy of a passing score, previously challenged his results on the exam, including to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied rehearing (see 2401230031) (Byungmin Chae v. U.S., CIT # 24-00086).
Jacob Kopnick
Jacob Kopnick, Associate Editor, is a reporter for Trade Law Daily and its sister publications Export Compliance Daily and International Trade Today. He joined the Warren Communications News team in early 2021 covering a wide range of topics including trade-related court cases and export issues in Europe and Asia. Jacob's background is in trade policy, having spent time with both CSIS and USTR researching international trade and its complexities. Jacob is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Public Policy.
U.S. solar cell company Auxin Solar and solar module designer Concept Clean Energy argued on July 22 that Section 318(a) of the Trade Act of 1930 didn't permit the Commerce Department to pause antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells and modules from four Southeast Asian countries found to be circumventing the AD/CVD orders on these products from China (Auxin Solar v. United States, CIT # 23-00274).
Minsu Fang, a Chinese national, was indicted for allegedly conspiring to import what the U.S. government believes to be "the largest amount of fentanyl precursors found in the Southern District of Texas and one of the largest in the country," DOJ announced July 22.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York on July 22 reached a non-prosecution agreement with French bus parts supplier CBM, under which the company will pay a $1.5 million fine for lying about the source of bus parts supplied to "U.S. transit authority customers" from 2010 to 2021, the office announced.
The Court of International Trade in a confidential July 22 opinion remanded the Commerce Department's decision to continue using adverse facts available against countervailing duty respondent The Ancientree Cabinet Co. related to its alleged receipt of benefits under China's Export Buyer's Credit Program. Judge Richard Eaton said he intends to issue a public version of the decision "in the near future," giving the parties until July 29 to review the opinion for confidential information (Dalian Meisen Woodworking Co. v. U.S., CIT # 20-00110).
Jordan formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies July 23, bringing to 81 the number of countries that have accepted the deal. The WTO requires 29 more formal acceptances to reach the two-thirds of membership threshold needed for the agreement to be able to enter into force.
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Iraq resumed its talks on accession to the World Trade Organization on July 18 following a 16-year break in the negotiating process. The WTO said Iraq "reaffirmed its pledge to join" the world body, while noting its "significant economic and legislative reforms."
The World Trade Organization's published agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's July 26 meeting indicates China will request the establishment of a dispute settlement panel on the U.S. government's tax credits for electric vehicles under the Inflation Reduction Act.
The U.S. told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 19 that importer Nutricia North America's medical foods should be classified as "food preparations" and not "medicaments" (Nutricia North America v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 24-1436).