The following decisions in antidumping and countervailing duty cases were decided in the period July through September 2009 at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. (See future issues of ITT for BP summaries of the Court of International Trade decisions for this third quarter.)
Court of International Trade
The United States Court of International Trade is a federal court which has national jurisdiction over civil actions regarding the customs and international trade laws of the United States. The Court was established under Article III of the Constitution by the Customs Courts Act of 1980. The Court consists of nine judges appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is located in New York City. The Court has jurisdiction throughout the United States and has exclusive jurisdictional authority to decide civil action pertaining to international trade against the United States or entities representing the United States.
In a September 2009 decision on the final antidumping and countervailing duty determinations on certain pneumatic off-the-road tires from China, the Court of International Trade ruled that the International Trade Administration is not barred by statute from applying the CV duty law to imports from non-market economies like China.
In Photonetics, Inc., v U.S., the Court of International Trade ruled that certain precision tunable lasers, having a brand name "Tunics", are properly classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 9027, and more specifically, under subheading 9027.50.40 (duty-free).
The Department of Homeland Security has granted a limited nationwide waiver of the Buy American provision contained in Section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, provided that at least 95 percent of the costs of each Transportation Security Administration Electronic Baggage Screening Program project will comply with Section 1605(a). (FR Pub 10/13/09, available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-24608.pdf)
In Faus Group, Inc., v U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the Court of International Trade, ruling that the proper classification of certain laminated flooring panels is under HTS heading 4418, and more specifically, under subheading 4418.90.40 at 3.2 percent ad valorem.
In ENI Technology Inc., v. U. S., the Court of International Trade agreed with the importer that the "principal use" of certain Radio Frequency Generators are as plasma processing systems used for semiconductor manufacturing. However, the Court did not resolve the type of plasma processing that ENI's imports used and directed that the type of processing be determined and reported to the court by November 30, 2009.
In National Fisheries Institute, Inc., et al., v. U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, the Court of International Trade ruled that an enhanced (high value) continuous bond requirement established by Customs for frozen warmwater shrimp imports subject to antidumping duties was arbitrary and capricious, and contrary to law.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently issued revised, superseding guidance on the classification of utilitarian or functional articles with festive designs and/or motifs in light of the Michael Simon Design, Inc. v. U.S. decision.
In Peerless Clothing International, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of International Trade denied Customs' motion for rehearing or reconsideration of the valuation of men's wool suits purchased through related party transactions, ruling that applying transaction value instead of computed value would not have changed the dutiable value.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued revised guidance on the classification of utilitarian or functional articles with festive designs and/or motifs in light of the Michael Simon Design, Inc. v. U.S. decision. The revised guidance supersedes its previous versions.