For close to a decade, U.S. lawyers have pressed price-fixing claims against Chinese companies that produce most of the world’s vitamin C, finally winning a $157 million verdict last year. With that verdict now on appeal, the Chinese government is reasserting its position that the litigation should never have gotten off the ground because the defendants were acting at its behest.
In an amicus brief filed on Monday, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reverse the verdict, arguing that defendants North China Pharmaceutical Group Corp. and Hebei Welcome Pharamceutical Co. were unfairly penalized for complying with Chinese law. MOFCOM, which equates itself to a cabinet-level department of the U.S. government, is represented by a Sidley Austin team including Carter Philips, Kwaku Akowuah and Joel Mitnick.
