2017 International Trade Law Decisions of the Federal Circuit

The 2017 term of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit included fourteen precedential appeals from the Court of International Trade (CIT). Many of these cases turned on the same issues analyzed in Federal Circuit cases in prior years, such as when a company can escape the presumption that if it operates in China it must be part of a non-market economy (NME), or how to properly determine the value of goods in order to assess a dumping margin. A few standout cases this term include the Mid Continent Nail Corp. v. United States case, which addressed the extent to which a foreign exporter must be provided notice of a rule change that might affect it; the Changzhou Hawd Flooring Co. v. United States case, which examined whether the U.S. Department of Commerce ("Commerce") is permitted to depart from the statutory "expected method" for valuing goods; and The Container Store v. United States3 case, which provided clarity on the definition of unit furniture for classification purpose