Akin Gump Files for Acer America in Section 301 Litigation

Acer America and its repair and service subsidiary joined the massive Section 301 litigation, alleging in a Nov. 1 complaint at the Court of International Trade that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ran afoul of the 1974 Trade Act and the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act when it imposed the lists 3 and 4A tariffs on Chinese imports. Acer’s complaint cites tariff exposure to 16 classifications of goods on List 3 and four on List 4A, including for PCs, speakers and projectors. Acer’s law firm is Akin Gump, which crafted the first-filed HMTX Industries-Jasco Products complaint in September 2020 that springboarded the roughly 3,800 nearly identical actions to follow, all seeking to have the tariff rulemakings vacated and the duties refunded with interest. HMTX-Jasco is now the designated sample case, and Akin Gump’s deadline is Nov. 15 for filing papers supporting its Aug. 2 motion for judgment on the agency record. It’s the final entry on the court’s April 13 scheduling order. Oral argument is expected next, possibly as soon as December (Acer America Corporation v. U.S., CIT #21-00575).