North Korea

Court of International Trade

Summary of Decisions

19-41

On April 1, 2019, the CIT sustained and further remanded Commerce’s remand redetermination in the 2014-2015 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on welded carbon steel standard pipe and tube products from Turkey. Commerce’s action on remand negated the statutory drawback adjustment that Plaintiff Toscelik earned by exporting its finished product to the United States and impinges on the agency’s ability to make a fair comparison. Commerce reasonably relied on Plaintff Toscelik’s questionnaire responses and concluded that Commerce’s grant of circumstances of sale adjustment was supported by substantial evidence.

Investigations

  • Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: On April 11, 2019, Commerce released its final AD and CVD determinations.

Administrative Reviews

  • Stainless Steel Bar from Brazil: On April 12, 2019, Commerce released the final results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review (2017).
  • Uncovered Innerspring Units from the People’s Republic of China: On April 18, 2019, Commerce released the final results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review (2017-2018).
  • Large Power Transformers from the Republic of Korea: On April 19, 2019, the final results of the Antidumping Duty Review (2016-2017) were released.
  • Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from Mexico: On April 22, 2019, Commerce released its final results for the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review (2016-2017).
  • Certain Steel Nails from the People’s Republic of China: On April 24, 2019, the final results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative review and Final determination of No Shipments (2016-2017) were released.
  • Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People’s Republic of China: On April 25, 2019, the final results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative review and final determination of No Shipments (2016-2017) were released.
  • Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People’s Republic of China: On April 25, 2019, the final results of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review (2016) were released.
  • Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People’s Republic of China: On April 26, 2019, the final results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and final determination of No Shipments (2016-2017) were released.
  • Certain Frozen Fish Fillets from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: On April 29, 2019, Commerce released the final results and final determination of No Shipments of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review (2016-2017).
  • Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products from Australia: On April 30, 2019, Commerce released the final results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review (2016-2017).

On April 15, 2018, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued a denial order against ZTE Corporation and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. (collectively “ZTE”), effectively banning U.S. companies from providing components to ZTE  because the company had failed to comply with the terms of a disciplinary agreement reached in March 2017 arising from violations of U.S. export control restrictions against Iran and North Korea. It is estimated that U.S. companies provide nearly 25-30 percent of the components used in ZTE products. ZTE’s U.S. subsidiary advertises that it has been ranked by independent industry analysts as the fourth-largest supplier of mobile devices in the U.S. overall and second-largest supplier of prepaid devices.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it had reached an agreement with South Korea to provide the country with a long term exemption from the 25 percent tariff on steel products imposed by the President under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862). Instead,…

On Friday, February 23, 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) imposed blocking sanctions against one individual, twenty-seven entities and twenty-eight vessels known to have previously provided maritime support to North Korean coal and petroleum transactions. OFAC added the individuals, entities and vessels to its Specially Designated Nationals List (the “SDN List”), which will generally prohibit the fifty-six sanctioned parties from transacting with the United States or any United States person.

On Tuesday, September 26, the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department announced new sanctions on banks and representatives linked to North Korean financial networks. These sanctions come as a response to North Korea’s violations of UN resolutions and attempts to develop nuclear weapons.

OFAC identified 26 North Korean nationals working in China, Russia, Libya, and the UAE as representatives of North Korean banks. In addition, eight financial institutions were added to the Specially Designated Nationals list, several of which have branches in China.

On Thursday, September 21, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on North Korea designed to curb its nuclear weapons program. President Trump, along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, announced the sanctions at a United Nations luncheon.

The President said he had authorized the U.S. Department of Treasury to “target any individual or entity that conducts trade in goods, services or technology” with North Korea. The sanctions are also intended to disrupt shipping from North Korea by prohibiting aircraft and vessels that have been to North Korea within 180 days to call at a port or land in the United States.

On Tuesday, August 22, the Trump Administration unveiled new sanctions against Chinese and Russian individuals and entities in order to restrain North Korea’s development of its nuclear and missile programs. The United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) added ten companies and six individuals accused of trading coal, oil, and mineral resources with North Korea to its Specially Designated Nationals List. The Department of Treasury says that North Korea generates nearly $1 billion a year in coal exports and imposed sanctions on three Chinese companies that it determined to have imported North Korean coal between 2013 and 2016.

On August 14, 2017, the Trump Administration moved toward self-initiating a case against China under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. That legal provision is broad, and  authorizes the President to “take all appropriate action, including retaliation, to obtain the removal of any act, policy, or practice of a foreign government that violates an international trade agreement or is unjustified, unreasonable, or discriminatory, and that burdens or restricts U.S. commerce.” Past administrations have been hesitant to use the broad powers of the act to impose additional tariffs and quotas due largely to the possibility of retaliation and the uncertain effect on US companies. The Trump Administration announced that it was using the broad statute to zero in on issues involving U.S. intellectual property rights, theft of such trade secrets, and pressures by China forcing U.S. companies to transfer technological knowledge before setting up operations in China.

Today, President Trump officially signed H.R. 3364, the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act” (CAATSA) into law. CAATSA originated as a bill which was focused on only Iran. However, partially in response to Russian cyber-interference with the 2016 election, the Senate expanded CAATSA to impose additional sanctions against Russia and also codify into law various sanctions imposed by the Obama Administration in the form of Executive Orders. The House of Representatives then approved these additions and added further sanctions against North Korea. Eventually, the House and Senate approved the final version of CAATSA by a margin of 419-3 and 98-2, respectively. For additional detail on CAATSA’s legislative history, please see our previous alerts here, here and here.