PrimeSource Overturned at Federal Circuit
Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allows the President, following an investigation by the Department of Commerce, to adopt a plan of remedial action to protect the national security from...
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CIT to Meyer: Still No First Sale for Value
Remember Meyer Corp. v. United States? We discussed the original CIT decision in this post from 2021. That decision caused many quizzical discussions among trade nerds about whether the fact that a...
View ArticleCyber Power Decision Keeps the Lights On Origin
The Court of International Trade has issued the much anticipated (at least by me) decision on the merits in Cyber Power Systems (USA) Inc. v. United States. It's a bit of a roller coaster ride. The...
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Revenge of the Hobgoblin
UPDATE: A kind reader let me know I misattributed the quote. It is not from Thoreau as originally reported. Thanks for the feedback. There is a saying, attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson that “Foolish...
View ArticleDecision on Section 301 List 3 and 4A
The Court of International Trade has issued a decision in the lead case challenging the Section 301 duties on products of China covered by List 3 and 4A. This case is almost unique in the number of...
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Kent International Rides to Victory
Kent International has been in a dispute with Customs over the classification of "Kangaroo Carrier" child safety seats for bicycles for so long that it has generated six judicial opinions. We last...
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Value Allowances for Defects
If you are bothering to read this blog, you likely know that most goods entering the United States are appraised on the basis of transaction value, which is the total price paid or payable for the...
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Interest and Disclosures
The Court of International Trade decision in Otter Products, LLC addresses a novel question about how loss of revenue is calculated in the context of a prior disclosure. Grab a snack, this is...
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Limitations Periods for Penalties
In United States v. Zhe "John" Liu, the defendant was accused of a running a scheme to avoid antidumping duties on wire hangers from China by transshipping them through other countries and incorrectly...
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Broker Exam Challenge
Judicial challenges to the grading of the customs brokers license exam are not very common, but they happen. Usually, I have not been super supportive of the plaintiffs. See my maybe too mean-spirited...
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A Bowl of “Other”
Tariff classification can sometimes produce surprising results. Such is the case with Nature’s Touch Frozen Foods v. United States, a recent decision of the U.S. Court of International Trade. The...
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Update on the Vaquita
On June 14, 2023, the U.S. Court of International Trade approved the voluntary dismissal of a case brought by a group of environmental organizations to force the U.S. government to take action to force...
View ArticleIKADAN and EAPA
I have not yet addressed cases brought under the Enforce and Protect Act ("EAPA"). These are important and controversial cases, so we need to change that. Also, there have been a few at this point, so...
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EAPA Part 2 - What's The Problem?
In my last post, we covered the mechanical aspects of evasion investigations conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. These are cases CBP may initiate on its own, but which seem to more usually...
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Excavating Tariff Classifications
A common error in tariff classification is to assume that some doodad used in or with a machine is necessarily classified as part of that machine. That is not always the case, which is why it is...
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CAFC: EAPA Process Really Does Violate Due Process
Hot on the heels of my complaining about how the EAPA law and process is stacked against importers, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued an important decision that will have a major...
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Target on Finality
In the last post, about the Federal Circuit’s very important decision on due process and allegations of evasion of antidumping duties, I made a snarky, offhand comment that the government believes...
View ArticleEllwood City Blues
Despite being judicial review of agency action, principles of administrative law do not always apply to customs law. That is because most decisions by Customs and Border Protection affecting the...
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Counter-Counterclaim Decision
This is a two-parter covering three decisions including Second Nature Designs Ltd. v. United States. This part covers an interesting procedural question with implications for importers deciding whether...
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Hybrid Sheep and the Lacey Act
The Lacey Act, as you likely know, prohibits the international movement of plants and animals that were harvested illegally. Typically, a violation involves a company that imported wood or wood...
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Liquidation Un-Deemed by CIT
What happens when Customs decides that an entry was "deemed liquidated" while the entry is suspended by the Commerce Department? Apparently, nothing. That is the gist of the decision in Fraserview...
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HTSUS Snippets and Fragments
For the most part, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States has an internal logic and consistent format that eases navigation. Most of us who work with the HTSUS can easily communicate...
View ArticlePrecious Tritium
One thing I have learned as a customs lawyer who does a lot of classification work is that there are millions of odd items moving in international trade the existence of which I am completely ignorant....
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Ninestar and UFLPA Exhaustion
Exhaustion is a key doctrine in administrative law. When applicable, it requires that a party unhappy with an agency’s determination complete the administrative appeal process before turning to the...
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Crikey and Zut Alors, What is a Diary?
For more than 20 years, I have had the privilege of organizing the Dominick L. DiCarlo – US Court of International Trade Lecture at the University of Illinois – Chicago Law School (FKA the John...
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