ARC Returns Conflict-of-Interest Claims Related to ITC Injury Proceeding to CIT

Importer Amsted Rail Co. and its Mexican maquiladora affiliate ASF-K de Mexico again brought conflict-of-interest claims to the Court of International Trade involving the International Trade Commission's injury finding on freight rail couplers from Mexico. The Dec. 15 complaint was brought alongside its lawsuit against the Commerce Department's antidumping duty investigation (see 2311210077) (Amsted Rail Co. v. United States, CIT # 23-00268).

ARC’s complaint comes after the company's initial suit involving Commerce and the International Trade Comission, in which ARC accused its former counsel, Daniel Pickard, of ethics violations after he joined a new law firm and allegedly used ARC's information against it (see 2211160057). The importer said Pickard, after leaving the firm previously used by ARC, altered an AD petition with the company's information to achieve a better result for his new client, who has opposing motivations.

The ITC's failure to force Pickard from the proceedings "not only was the antithesis of reasoned decision-making," but was "contrary to law and compromised the agency proceedings' integrity,” ARC said.

ARC also levied other accusations against the ITC, including claims that the commission "applied the wrong legal standard in defining the domestic industry" and illegally decided not to exclude one firm from the definition of the domestic industry. The ITC also erred in deciding that cumulated subject imports had significant adverse price effects, the brief said.