CIT Again Rules Against Solar Safeguard Exclusion Withdrawal

The Court of International Trade struck down the U.S. Trade Representative's attempt to withdraw an exclusion on bifacial solar panels from the Section 201 safeguard measures on solar cells in a Nov. 17 decision. Judge Gary Katzmann found that USTR lacked the statutory authority to withdraw the exclusion. The opinion is the second in as many days over the Trump administration's termination of the exclusion, following a Nov. 16 decision that struck down the presidential proclamation issued after CIT imposed a preliminary injunction on USTR's action. That Nov. 16 decision ordered refunds for tariffs paid under the safeguard on bifacial cells by the importers that filed the lawsuit.