The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 4:
Court of International Trade
The United States Court of International Trade is a federal court which has national jurisdiction over civil actions regarding the customs and international trade laws of the United States. The Court was established under Article III of the Constitution by the Customs Courts Act of 1980. The Court consists of nine judges appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is located in New York City. The Court has jurisdiction throughout the United States and has exclusive jurisdictional authority to decide civil action pertaining to international trade against the United States or entities representing the United States.
President Donald Trump’s “many tweets” and statements from his administration are strong evidence the White House unlawfully imposed the lists 3 and 4A tariffs to boost the U.S. Treasury and not curb the allegedly bad Chinese trade behavior documented in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s March 2018 Section 301 investigative report. So said the lawyer for two automotive components importers making the case that the tariffs are unconstitutional because only Congress has the power of taxation.
The thousands of complaints seeking to vacate the lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods and have the duties refunded warrant the Court of International Trade assigning the litigation to a three-judge panel instead of a single judge, Akin Gump said Sept. 30 on behalf of importers HMTX Industries and Jasco Products, in a court filing. The Department of Justice told Akin Gump it opposes the motion and will file a response, it said.
Nearly 1,000 lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 21-27 (see 2009220029 and 2009220014). For a full list, see the PACER database.
The Court of International Trade should use a case management approach for the numerous Section 301 tariff lawsuits similar to the one used for litigation over the harbor maintenance tax (HMT), the Department of Justice said in a Sept. 23 filing. That should include the selection of a “test case” and a stay of all other cases involved, DOJ said. The filing marks DOJ's first since HMTX Industries filed suit to force refunds of Section 301 tariffs paid on lists 3 and 4 goods from China (see 2009110005).
More than 2,000 lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 14-20 (see 2009220029). For a full list, see the PACER database.
The Court of International Trade is deluged with hundreds of lawsuits that closely model a challenge from Akin Gump and HMTX Industries that seeks to force refunds of Section 301 tariffs paid on lists 3 and 4 goods from China (see 2009110005). Such a torrent of filings is rare but not unheard of at the CIT, lawyers involved with and following the litigation said. The most obvious example was the yearslong litigation over the harbor maintenance tax (HMT), they said.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 7-13:
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 31 - Sept. 6:
The Commerce Department will decrease the antidumping duty cash deposit rate in effect for an exporter of oil country tubular goods from South Korea (A-580-870), implementing a recent Court of International Trade decision that ordered Commerce to recalculate rates set in an administrative review completed in 2017 (see 1704140027 and 1707070018), it said in a notice released Sept. 8. As a result of its recalculation, the AD duty cash deposit rate for Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. will fall to 3.3% (from 16.26%). The new rate will apply to subject merchandise entered on or after Sept. 9, 2020.