CIT Rules Committee Considering Ways to Transmit Proprietary Information From EAPA Investigations

The Court of International Trade's Rules Advisory Committee is considering a "format" for transmitting business proprietary information from CBP to CIT related to Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) investigations, said Justin Miller, Justice Department senior trial counsel, during a panel discussion at an Oct. 27 Case Western Reserve University Law School event on enforcement of customs laws. "Some of the items they've discussed is something similar to what we would see in an AD/CV proceeding," Miller said. There's been some concern about the treatment of confidential information within an EAPA proceeding (see 1703100012).

Miller, who noted he spoke on his own behalf and not for DOJ, said that "if that framework is ultimately adopted, I think we're going to see something similar to what we do see in our trade cases" at CIT. "We have not had an EAPA case yet that has been appealed to the court, so it's yet to be tested. We could always protect the information through a judicial protective order that the parties would negotiate at the outset of the case, but they're hoping to streamline the process somewhat akin to the trade format."

Importers and customs brokers should automatically consider Customs Form 28 requests for information to indicate an active antidumping or countervailing duty evasion investigation, said Richard Wortman, a lawyer with Grunfeld Desiderio, also speaking on the panel. "One of the messages, as a practitioner, we've been trying to tell our broker clients, as well as our importer clients, is 'if you are importing merchandise that is subject to a dumping order, you really have to take these requests very seriously, you really need to engage counsel sooner than later,'" he said. "The worst that happens is you're not under investigation," he said. Most CF 28s "are responded to in a slipshod manner, especially by brokers and importers who say 'Here's a pile of papers, take them.'" Wortman offered similar advice earlier this month (see 1710140001).