The Court of International Trade ruled in a March 25 opinion that CBP properly classified eight models of gloves imported by Magid Glove & Safety Manufacturing Co. under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 6116.10.55, dutiable at 13.2%. Magid argued for classification in subheading 3926.20.10, free of duty. Judge Timothy Stanceu sided with the government, ruling that heading 6116 and subheading 6116.10.55 describe the gloves in question.

The Court of International Trade dismissed a case brought by the U.S. seeking over $5.7 million in unpaid duties from Katana Racing on passenger vehicle and light truck tires from China. In the March 28 opinion, Judge Thomas Aquilino found that CBP improperly pursued the violations despite indications of identity theft and that the statute of limitations had run out. "Considering CBP’s apparent recalcitrance in specifying to the defendant the actual §1592(a) violation it committed, the defendant has provided reasonable justification for its revocation of its last [statute of limitations waiver], with the result that this action is now barred by the passage of time," said Aquilino.

The Court of International Trade sustained in a March 28 opinion the International Trade Commission's affirmative injury determinations in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations into wood moldings and millwork products from China. Judge Leo Gordon held that Chinese exporter Jeld-Wen failed to make its case that laminated veneer lumber is not included in the domestic like product for wood mouldings and millwork, and that other economic factors, not imports, caused the domestic injury. On the latter point, Gordon said that Jeld-Wen needed to show that its conclusion is the only one to be drawn from the record and not the preferred one -- something the plaintiff failed to do.

The Court of International Trade in a March 18 opinion made public March 23 sustained the Commerce Department's final determination in the countervailing duty investigation on utility scale wind towers from Canada. Addressing the five issues raised by the plaintiffs, Judge Gary Katzmann said Commerce permissibly excluded plaintiff Marmen's foreign auditor's foreign currency adjustment as unreliable, reasonably found the Quebec Local Content Requirement provided a recurring benefit and acted within its authority to find that the Quebec On-the-Job Training tax credit was a de facto subsidy. Commerce also legally excluded some increased tax liabilities and acted lawfully when finding the financial benefit from additional depreciation for buildings used in manufacturing, Katzmann said.

The Court of International Trade on March 18 dismissed a lawsuit filed by Wheatland Tube Company seeking to compel CBP to respond to requests for information and issue a tariff classification ruling, finding CBP provided the information it was required to by law. Judge Timothy Stanceu said that CBP provided the information and that the agency was correct to say that the requests for information weren't proper.

The Court of International Trade on March 21 sustained the Commerce Department's remand results in a challenge brought by The Ancientree Cabinet Co. to the antidumping duty investigation of wooden cabinets and vanities from China. Judge Gary Katzmann upheld Commerce's financial ratio calculations after the agency provided more explanation on remand..

A customs lawsuit is set to enter the second phase of its bench trial to find whether importer SGS Sports' apparel qualifies for duty-free treatment, the Court of International Trade said in a March 21 opinion. SGS entered swimsuits under a duty-free special classification provision after first shipping them to Canada for warehousing at a supposedly related company's warehouse. The first phase of the trial was set up to find whether this warehousing agreement is a lease or similar use agreement. Finding the agreement to be a lease or similar use agreement, Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves's decision allows the trial to proceed to the next phase, which will be to determine if the swimsuits qualify for duty-free treatment under HTS subheading 9801.00.20.

The Court of International Trade denied on March 15 importer Root Sciences' bid for reconsideration of a decision that CBP's seizure of drug paraphernalia precluded a deemed exclusion of the merchandise, removing the case from the trade court's jurisdiction. Root argued that the decision created a paradox, leaving the jurisdictional status of the case in limbo. Judge Gary Katzmann held that Root's motion "amounts to nothing more than a disagreement with the court's reasoning on matters fully litigated."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled March 11 that there's not enough evidence to back the Commerce Department's position that a particular market situation existed affecting inputs for oil country tubular goods in an antidumping duty administrative review on OCTG from South Korea. Affirming the Court of International Trade, the Federal Circuit said there's no evidence for three of the five factors Commerce alleged created a PMS. The appellate court also rejected Commerce's reliance on its differential pricing analysis to detect "masked" dumping since certain conditions for the statistical test used by Commerce were not met.

The Court of International Trade remanded an Enforce and Protect Act challenge, per the U.S.' request, to give CBP a chance to fix the record after it found out that parties to the investigation weren't given certain documents in the investigation. The case involves a CBP investigation of allegations that Norca Industrial Co. evaded antidumping duties on carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings from China by transshipping its imports through Vietnam. The documents include those relating to a third party's photos and videos from a site visit to manufacturer BW Fittings' Vietnam facility. Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves granted the remand solely for the "full consideration of the complete record" and declined to "opine" on other issues raised by Norca.