Anti-forced labor nonprofit International Rights Advocates on July 11 addressed the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which denied standing to anti-abortion medical associations and individual doctors challenging the FDA's regulation of mifepristone. In fending off the government's claims that IRAdvocates lacks standing to challenge CBP's delay in responding to a withhold release order petition, the advocacy group said its case is "fundamentally distinguishable" from Alliance (International Rights Advocates v. Alejandro Mayorkas, CIT # 23-00165).
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.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 9 granted a joint stipulation of dismissal from the U.S. and exporters led by Risen Energy Co. on the 2017 review of the countervailing duty order on solar cells from China. The government appealed the Court of International Trade decision siding with Risen on the agency's land benchmark calculation and use of adverse facts available pertaining to China's Export Buyer's Credit Program (see 2312200026). Gregory Menegaz, counsel for Risen, said that the U.S. sought the dismissal, suggesting it was due to the "bad facts" for the U.S. in the review (Risen Energy Co. v. U.S., CIT Consol. # 20-03912).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 9 unsealed a May 29 order compelling Judge Pauline Newman to show cause for why she shouldn't continue to be subject to a suspension from hearing new cases in light of her continued refusal to cooperate with her colleagues' investigation of her fitness to continue serving on the bench. The suspension is set to expire in September.
The Court of International Trade on July 10 kept the vast majority of the confidential record shielded from the public in Chinese printer cartridge exporter Ninestar Corp.'s suit against its placement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List. Judge Gary Katzmann only ordered an eight-page stretch of the confidential record unsealed, given that it detailed the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force's "standard operating procedures."
The Court of International Trade will hold oral argument July 12 at 10 a.m. EDT in customs broker Seko Customs Brokerage's case against CBP's suspension of the company from participation in the Entry Type 86 pilot and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program. Judge Claire Kelly will hear argument on Seko's application for a temporary restraining order and motion for preliminary injunction (Seko Customs Brokerage v. U.S., CIT # 24-00097).
No lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade.
Gerald Moody, former assistant chief for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit of DOJ's Fraud Section, has joined Akin as a partner in the white collar defense and government investigations practice, the firm announced. Moody worked at DOJ for over eight years, starting as a federal prosecutor in the FCPA unit in 2016 and serving as assistant chief beginning in January 2021.
Nikolay Goltsev of Montreal and Brooklyn, New York, resident Salimdzhon Nasriddinov pleaded guilty July 9 to conspiracy to commit export control violations. The two men shipped electronic components to sanctioned Russian companies, some of which were then found in "seized Russian weapons platforms and signals intelligence equipment in Ukraine," according to DOJ.
Importer Performance Additives will appeal a May Court of International Trade decision finding that a duty drawback claim becomes deemed liquidated after one year if the underlying import entries are also liquidated and final, with finality defined as the end of the 180-day window in which to file a protest with CBP (see 2405310073). Judge Jane Restani said that as a result one of Performance Additives' drawback claims was deemed liquidated but another of its claims wasn't, since its entries weren't liquidated and final within one year of the claim being made. The importer will take the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Performance Additives v. United States, CIT # 22-00044).
The Solar Energy Industries Association told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that the Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo scrapping the doctrine of Chevron deference to federal agencies should compel the appellate court to overturn the deferential standard established in Maple Leaf Fish Co. v. United States (see 2406280051) (Solar Energy Industries Association v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 22-1392).