US, Plaintiff Ask to Reopen Discovery in Case Regarding Classification of Chemical Products

The U.S. and a seller of a chemical product used in the making of plastic asked the Court of International Trade to grant a consent motion to reopen discovery until Nov. 4, saying all expert reports, if any, were to be filed by then (Lanxess Corporation v. U.S., CIT # 23-00073).

Lanxess said in its 2023 complaint that its product should “clearly” be classified as a “supported catalyst” under the duty-free Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 3815.19, which covers “Reaction initiators, reaction accelerators and catalytic preparations, not elsewhere specified or included: Supported catalysts: Other,” not within heading 3208, which is for synthetic paints and varnishes at a 3.2% duty.

Its product, AXION CA 1330, is not a paint or a varnish, it said. Rather, it is “an organometallic used as a catalyst,” containing “a mixture of molecules consisting of aluminum, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen in a toluene solvent.” The product is “used exclusively to accelerate certain chemical processes,” it said.