The U.S. Court of International Trade struck down a decades-old rule allowing foreign producers to quickly obtain lower countervailing duty rates, reinstating higher duties for a slew of Canadian lumber companies. Judge Barnett poked holes in the regulation in November, but he gave the Dept. of Commerce a chance to defend its rule. The agency ultimately deferred to the court’s finding that the rule was proffered without proper authority. …The fight over the expedited CVD review rule bubbled up as part of the dispute over U.S. duties on Canadian lumber. Commerce’s 2018 CVD order included a 14% rate for all Canadian producers that were not individually investigated. But the regulation allowed those producers to apply for their own rate through an expedited review. …A challenge from U.S. producers soon followed. …Notably, the court said it would apply its ruling prospectively, ruling that it was too difficult to go back several years. …The ruling could create headaches for the U.S. at the World Trade Organization, which requires members to allow for expedited CVD reviews… [which] could invite a WTO challenge from Canada. [to access the full story a Law360 subscription may be required]