Jacob Kopnick

NEW YORK -- Three judges at the Court of International Trade offered tips to practitioners arguing before the court during an event at the court's judicial conference earlier this month. Judges Jennifer Choe-Groves, Claire Kelly and Gary Katzmann discussed tips for brief writing, oral argument and filing extension requests, laying out personal preferences and common areas where counsel goes wrong.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 22 denied exporter Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari's (Erdemir's) motion to consolidate three of its appeals, which all involve the sunset review of the antidumping duty order on hot-rolled steel flat products from Turkey. Judge William Bryson said the court already has designated the cases as "companion cases," adding that "Erdemir has not shown compelling reasons to require all parties to file consolidated briefs" (Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari v. U.S., Fed. Cir. #s 24-2242, -2243, -2249).

The following lawsuit was recently filed at the Court of International Trade:

The U.S. and importer Katana Racing jointly moved to refer a customs penalty suit to court-annexed mediation before the Court of International Trade following the court's recent decision rejecting Katana Racing's renewed motion to dismiss. The parties said in light of the decision, they "believe that resolution to this litigation could potentially be reached through court-annexed mediation" (U.S. v. Katana Racing, CIT # 19-00125).

An indictment was unsealed on Oct. 22 charging Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps brigadier general Ruhollah Bazghandi and members of his network with sanctions evasion, among other charges, in their efforts to murder a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin in New York City, DOJ announced.

Domestic steel producer Zekelman Industries filed a lawsuit on Oct. 21 in a Washington, D.C., federal court alleging that the Mexican government breached its 2019 agreement with the U.S. to slow imports of Mexican steel products. The company argued that Mexico's breach of the deal "has devastated the U.S. steel industry," forcing the company to close two plants due to the oversupply of cheap steel (Zekelman Industries v. United States, D.D.C. # 24-02992).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 23 ruled that steel tubing with insulating material imported by Shamrock Building Materials is classifiable as steel tubes of heading 7306, rather than insulated conduit of heading 8547, subjecting the steel tubing to 25% Section 232 tariffs.

Surety firm Aegis Security Insurance Co. argued on Oct. 21 that the government's action seeking to collect unpaid duties on a Chinese honey entry imported in 2002 is barred by the statute of limitations or CBP's failure to issue the bill for the duties within a reasonable amount of time. Should either of these theories fall short, Aegis said it's entitled to judgment due to CBP's "inordinate and inexcusable delay in billing Aegis" and the fact that its reinsurer went insolvent, among other confounding factors, the company said (United States v. Aegis Security Insurance Co., CIT # 22-00327).

Kuwait formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies Oct. 22, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 86. The WTO needs 25 more to reach the two-thirds of the membership threshold for the agreement to take effect.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 22 rejected exporter Oman Fasteners' bid to reschedule oral argument currently set for Nov. 7 in its appeal involving an antidumping duty review. Oman Fasteners sought to reschedule the oral argument due to its lawyers' unforeseen scheduling conflict involving a separate case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit (Oman Fasteners v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-1661).