Industry News

Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Overturns USCIT Ruling Regarding Ford's Bid for NAFTA Duty Refund

March 22, 2011


On March 21, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the U.S. Court of International Trade’s (CIT) ruling that the court did not have jurisdiction to hear Ford Motor Co.’s lawsuit involving NAFTA duty refunds for car parts from Canada. The CIT had ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because of the timing when Ford filed documents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  Ford filed a post-entry claim for a shipment of car parts, seeking a refund under NAFTA, within a year of the shipment entering into the United States, but failed to submit certificates of origin to CBP until more than a year after importing the goods.

 

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals found that precedents involving the timely filing of a claim as a jurisdictional prerequisite did not involve claims where the claim was filed in a timely manner, but lacked a certificate of origin. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the untimely filing of the certificates did not negate the CIT’s jurisdiction to hear Ford's claim and remanded the case to the lower court to determine whether Ford is entitled to the duties.