The Court of International Trade on March 20 upheld the Commerce Department's withdrawal of a separate-rate questionnaire it had erroneously issued to exporter Jin Tiong Electrical Materials Manufacturer in an antidumping review, finding Commerce's rejection of the company's answers as untimely was proper because the agency had withdrawn the questionnaire before Jin Tiong submitted its response.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative complied with Administrative Procedure Act requirements when it set lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs on China, the Court of International Trade held in a much-anticipated opinion on March 17. After USTR provided more explanation of its tariff decisions on remand, judges Mark Barnett, Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves held that the explanations were not made impermissibly post hoc and cleared APA requirements.

The International Trade Commission legally applied retroactive antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of small vertical shaft engines from China, the Court of International Trade said. In a March 16 opinion, Judge M. Miller Baker said the "court will not second-guess" the ITC's decision, which found that the retroactive duties were justified because of a surge in imports of the engines just before the antidumping and countervailing duties took effect.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 15 rejected a textile company's expedited motion for a temporary injunction that would have required CBP to return its entries of imported coated fabric to unliquidated status or suspend the company's protests. Judge Evan Wallach said the company, Printing Textiles, doing business as Berger Textiles, "failed to persuade the court of the likelihood that jurisdiction under" Section 1581(a) would be manifestly inadequate, establishing jurisdiction under Section 1581(i), as claimed by Berger (Printing Textiles, dba Berger Textiles v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-1576).

The Court of International Trade on March 16 upheld the use of a questionnaire instead of on-site verification in the Commerce Department's countervailing duty investigation on aluminum sheet from Turkey. Judge M. Miller Baker said that Commerce "easily" defeated respondent Teknik Aluminyum Sanayi's challenge because Teknik cited no authority requiring the agency to carry out a certain verification procedure during a global pandemic.

CBP correctly classified a supermodule for use in hydrogen fuel-cell powerplants as parts of electric generators rather than as a water gas generator, DOJ argued in a March 15 motion at the Court of International Trade (HyAxium v. United States, CIT # 21-00057).

The Commerce Department can legally deduct President Donald Trump's Section 232 duties from an exporter's U.S. price in antidumping duty proceedings, raising the respondent's dumping margin, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled March 15. Judges Richard Taranto, Kara Stoll and Tiffany Cunningham said Trump's proclamation imposing the duties made clear that the Section 232 tariffs were meant to be added to any applicable antidumping duties. However, the appellate court clarified that this ruling only applies to Trump's Section 232 duties and not all presidential action taken under Section 232.

The Commerce Department dropped its particular market situation adjustment for the sales-below-cost test on remand at the Court of International Trade in an antidumping duty case on forged steel fluid end blocks from Germany, resulting in a zero percent AD rate for respondent BGH Edelstahl Siegen, if the rate is sustained (Ellwood City Forge Co., et al. v. United States, CIT # 21-00077).

CBP properly classified Shamrock Building Materials' steel conduit tubing imports from Mexico as steel tubing and not insulated fittings, the Court of International Trade ruled March 13. Judge Timothy Stanceu said the "uncontested facts" show the tubing is not insulated and is therefore subject to 25% Section 232 steel tariffs.

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