Broad disagreement separates the HMTX-Jasco plaintiffs from the government in the massive Section 301 litigation over the issue of whether importers who prevail on the merits of the case would be entitled to tariff refunds on customs entries for which liquidations become final, according to a joint status report filed April 12 with the Court of International Trade.

The government is not trying to trip up importers by obscuring which exporters have been targeted under a withhold release order, a former top CBP trade official said, but the Trade Secrets Act prohibits CBP from releasing manufacturer IDs when the seizure was done under a regional WRO, as with Xinjiang cotton.

Two South Korean companies that make lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. have reached a settlement to end a case at the International Trade Commission that had led to an import ban on SK Innovation for theft of trade secrets (see 2102120021). The settlement was announced April 11, which was also the deadline for the White House to say if it would overrule the ITC. If the import ban had remained, SK Innovation had said it would not be able to continue plans for a large battery plant in Georgia, which will supply domestic electric vehicle production at Ford and Volkswagen. LG Energy Solution is in a joint venture with General Motors in Lordstown, Ohio, building a plant to produce vehicle batteries.

Customs modernization legislation should include a requirement for customs brokers, freight forwarders and other filers to “attain and deploy requisite and continuing education providing the capacity to operate in the modern trade environment,” a National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America subcommittee said in a draft report released April 12. The draft white paper comes from the NCBFAA subcommittee working to develop suggestions as CBP comes up with a legislative proposal for customs modernization (see 2011120010). CBP is still in the process of reviewing responses to a proposal for continuing education requirements, though an official said it isn't totally clear that the benefits would outweigh the costs (see 2103250030).

CBP did not liquidate imports of wooden bedroom furniture from China past a key six-month time limit, the U.S. Court of International Trade found in an April 9 opinion. Ruling in favor of the U.S. government, Chief Judge Mark Barnett found that CBP properly liquidated the furniture entries within six months of being notified by a message from Commerce that an injunction against the entries' liquidation was lifted. Barnett also found that the agency's reliquidation of another entry from importer Aspects Furniture International, following the entry's deemed liquidation without a notice to the importer, did not violate the pre-2016 version of the reliquidation statute.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said through a spokesperson that he will continue working with House and Senate colleagues “to reauthorize GSP and pass the new MTB bill as soon as possible.” The bills must originate in the House, since they are revenue bills.

Solar modules made from unfinished solar cells imported from China into Vietnam for finishing are likely subject to antidumping and countervailing duties on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, from China (A-570-979/C-570-980), the Commerce Department said in a preliminary scope ruling issued March 30. The country where the p/n junction is formed on the cells determines country of origin, which in the case of these cells is China, Commerce said.

A wide range of companies and trade groups told the Commerce Department that the semiconductor supply is vulnerable because of over-concentration in Taiwan, China and Japan in particular, and because packaging and testing is becoming more concentrated in China. Comments in docket BIS-2021-0011 closed April 5, but some comments were not published until April 6. The comments were sought to flesh out policy to follow an executive order on the semiconductor shortage (see 2103110048).

International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from March 29-April 2 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

The assembly of lithium-ion battery packs in China prior to import doesn't result in a substantial transformation, CBP said in an April 1 ruling. Greenworks Tools sought a country of origin ruling on the battery packs, which are used with power tools. The company argued that the origin should be based on the origin of the battery cells and CBP agreed.