Summer 2024 Newsletter

You must be logged in as a current member to view the following Newsletter articles:


News from the Clerk of the Court

Federal Circuit and CIT Case Summaries

Articles
 

A Note From Our President

Happy Summer!

My name is Emily Beline and as a result of CITBA’s annual membership meeting held this past May, I am honored to serve as the CITBA President for the 2024-2026 term.  CITBA draws members from all corners of trade including the U.S. government, the private sector, law firms, the federal court system, and students. It is this diverse membership and the incredible Board members who volunteer their valuable time that makes the organization the premier trade association for trade bar practitioners. They have my sincerest thanks for their hard work and dedication. I have been a CITBA member for over ten years and can speak from personal experience to the strength of the trade bar network.  

I hope you enjoy this edition of the quarterly CITBA newsletter, which is full of valuable news from the Court, case summaries, event announcements, and articles.  Please consider submitting content at publication@citba.org  And please know that I am always available to members for questions, comments, feedback, or suggestions. 
I hope to see you at one of our upcoming programs or events!

Cheers,

Emily Beline

Upcoming Events

July 30, 2024 at 5:00 pm ET -  The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Young Lawyers Committees of CITBA invite Summer fellows, interns and associates and other law students and lawyers interested in international trade to a Summer Networking Trivia Night. Those interested in participating can attend in person at one of three locations—in Chicago at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn LLP, in New York at the International Trade Field Office of the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, or in Washington, DC at Cassidy Levy Kent (USA) LLP—or virtually. This event is free and open to CITBA members and non-members. For more information about this event and the register, please visit the event page here.

CITBA Committee Announcements

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee

CITBA ANNOUNCES 2024 SUMMER FELLOWSHIP AWARDS

CITBA has announced the 2024 recipients of its Summer Fellowship Awards program. The program is cosponsored by the CITBA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and the International Economic Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law. The fellowships provide financial support for law students, including those from underrepresented groups, to enable them to acquire summer work experience practicing international trade and economic law with a government agency, court, public interest organization, or international organization. The 2024 winners are Emily Ming of the University of Michigan Law School, Alexandra Sayegh of Georgetown Law, and Kelly Zhang of the George Washington University Law School. Zhang is interning with Court of International Trade (CIT) Chief Judge Barnett, Ming is interning with CIT Judge Reif, and Sayegh is interning with the Department of Justice International Trade Field Office.
 
In its first four years the Summer Fellowship program has assisted thirteen students.  Funding for the program has largely come from generous donations from CITBA members and continued funding is important to its future.  To donate to the CITBA/ASIL Fellowship Fund, please go to the donation page or the Diversity section (https://citba.org/content.asp?contentid=159) on the CITBA website and follow the instructions.  Please be sure to indicate that your donation is for the “CITBA/ASIL Summer Fellowship Program.”
 
DEI Committee Sponsors Panel on Promoting Diverse Voices in International Trade

On May 15, CITBA’s Diversity Equity & Inclusion Committee sponsored, in collaboration with the DEI Committee of the Association of Women in International Trade (WIIT), a panel on how organizations are promoting diversity and inclusion by encouraging more diverse individuals and firms to participate in the international trade field.  
 
The panel included Rahama Wright (CEO, Yeleen Enterprises and Co-Chair, President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa), Evelyn Barahona (Senior VP, Educational Fund, U.S.-Hispanic Chamber of Commerce), and Karen Burress (Chair, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council (DIAC), International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce) and was moderated by Elizabeth S. Lee of Wiley Rein.  
 
The panelists stressed that, while the international trade field offers a wide variety of career opportunities, government and other organizations’ programs to assist small to medium sized firms engage in international trade were particularly key to the success of companies owned by minorities and were resulting in the steady growth of such firms.  Wright, in particular, gave first-hand examples of how agency assistance programs had assisted her shea butter business to get started and become successful in West Africa and the United States. The panelists also noted that encouraging more diverse individuals and firms to participate in international trade helps to make the United States more globally competitive and promotes fair and equitable trade practices on a global scale.
 
Trade Remedies & Disputes Committee
 
On June 26, 2024, CITBA Board members met with officials from the U.S. International Trade Commission as part of their regular information exchanges.  
  • Among others, the ITC encouraged members of the trade bar to educate themselves and be careful with their use of artificial intelligence tools to avoid any possible disclosure of confidential information subject to protective order.  
  • The ITC seeks feedback on its relatively new Investigations Database System and on its Dataweb platform so that it may consider that feedback when making the next round of updates to these systems.  (Please provide feedback through the ITC’s website).
  •  CITBA Board members encouraged the ITC to implement a sunset review scheduling tool as part of IDS or asked that the ITC bring back the old excel format to the website, which was well-used by members of the trade bar and their clients.  
  • The ITC reminded everyone that the new login.gov procedures would apply to Electronic Docketing Information System (“EDIS”) transactions effective June 27 and already applies to Dataweb transactions to comply with government-wide security requirements.
  • With respect to EDIS filings, the ITC reminded practitioners to use logical naming conventions for all files uploaded to EDIS so that the ordering of the files, volumes, and exhibits are apparent to others.  Practitioners should avoid using confidential information when naming those files uploaded to EDIS.  
  • Following up on an issue discussed in prior meetings, the ITC renegotiated its contract and now has access to edited confidential census data on imports.  CITBA Board members reiterated the importance of such access for import injury cases
  • The ITC welcomes any suggestions from the trade bar on issues that would be suitable for future rulemaking on import injury issues.  As an example, what are the confidentiality expectations for information shared by members of the trade bar with ITC staff?  Are staff permitted to share information about potential new petition filings with their counterparts at Commerce?
  • The ITC is taking steps to engage with its counterparts at other trade agencies to facilitate communications and training of one another’s employees.

Past Events

May 22, 2024 – Annual Meeting – The Annual Meeting of the Customs and International Trade Bar Association was held this May following Georgetown University Law Center’s International Trade Update. At the meeting, CITBA’s new Board of Directors and Officers were elected, and the Board approved several updates and changes to the bylaws


Upcoming Events

View All Events