DOJ briefs in the massive Section 301 litigation don't demonstrate that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative considered "major objections contemporaneously with its decisions" to impose the lists 3 and 4A tariffs, the plaintiffs argued in a Dec. 5 reply brief at the Court of International Trade. While USTR relies on presidential direction as the post hoc justification of its decisions, the court already ruled that out as a means of satisfying the Administrative Procedure Act, the brief said. To now satisfy the APA, the U.S. may take new action, but the lists 3 and 4A tariffs may not stay in place based on "conclusory and post hoc rationales," the plaintiffs said (In Re Section 301 Cases, CIT #21-00052).

The Court of International Trade on Dec. 6 upheld the Commerce Department's finding of no particular market situation for hot-rolled coil steel in an antidumping duty review on welded line pipe from South Korea. Judge Claire Kelly also upheld Commerce's decision to recalculate respondent Nexteel's costs without making a non-prime product adjustment and revise the non-examined companies' rate. However, the judge again remanded the agency's further explanation of its classification of Nexteel's suspended production line costs.

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Specialty medical foods designed for infants and toddlers should be classified as medicaments and as duty-free articles for the handicapped rather than foods, Nutricia North America again argued in a Dec. 2 response brief at the Court of International Trade. The brief follows a Oct. 28 motion for summary judgment by DOJ, wherein the government argued that "while therapeutic, Nutricia's products are still foods" (see 2210310054) (Nutricia North America v. United States, CIT # 16-00008).

The U.S. filed new charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act against Javier Aguilar, a former oil and commodities trader at Vitol, accusing the Mexico and Houston resident of conspiracy to violate the FCPA's anti-bribery provisions for schemes in Ecuador and Mexico. The case against Aguilar was originally brought to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in 2020 solely for the Ecuadorian bribery scheme (see 2009230016). The new indictment now lays out five counts against Aguilar, four for FCPA violations and one for money laundering (U.S. v. Javier Aguilar, E.D.N.Y. #20-00390).

The Commerce Department improperly used adverse facts available on antidumping respondent Saha Thai Steel Pipe Public Co. since the agency failed to notify the respondent about the supposed deficiencies in its submissions, the Court of International Trade ruled in a Dec. 2 opinion. Saha Thai omitted sales of line pipe from its U.S. sales database, claiming that line pipe is not within the antidumping duty order on circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Thailand. Judge Stephen Vaden found that Commerce did not notify the respondent that its sales database was deficient, remanding the use of AFA. If Commerce continues to use AFA on remand, it must ensure that it complies with the notice requirement, the judge ruled.

Importers and exporters of solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam must complete and sign certifications within the next several weeks for any entries after April 1, 2022, to avoid antidumping and countervailing duties imposed in the preliminary determination of an anti-circumvention inquiry released by the Commerce Department on Dec. 2.

The Court of International Trade in a Dec. 1 opinion rejected the U.S.' motion to partially dismiss the alternative claims of jurisdiction in a case over the Commerce Department's assessment of antidumping duties. Judge Gary Katzmann said the question of the opinion was whether a party can dismiss an alternatively pleaded ground of jurisdiction. The judge said that since the U.S.'s motion "as styled is not the proper vehicle," the motion is denied.

The U.S. is likely to see several more resolutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the coming months, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri said at an annual FCPA conference this week. Argentieri made the remark after highlighting FCPA enforcement action taken in 2022. These moves included three corporate FCPA resolutions, involving Stericycle, Glencore and GOL Linhas Airlines, and one declination under the Corporate Enforcement Policy with disgorgement, involving Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Holdings (JLT).

The Court of International Trade should deny fish importer Southern Cross Seafoods' motion to expedite a case concerning the importer's application for preapproval to enter Chilean sea bass since the question of jurisdiction should settle the action, the U.S. argued in a Nov. 28 reply brief. The motion to expedite is "premature and unwarranted," and failing to expedite would not deprive Southern Cross of its requested relief, the U.S. said (Southern Cross Seafoods v. United States, CIT # 22-00299).