On July 20, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an order revising certain deadlines established in its July 6 decision and order granting the plaintiff group’s motion for a preliminary injunction in the ongoing Section 301 tariff refund litigation involving imports of certain Chinese products. The preliminary injunction suspended liquidation of unliquidated entries subject to List 3 and List 4A Section 301 duties, which, the plaintiff group alleges, are not authorized under the original investigation of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) into China’s actions adversely affecting U.S. intellectual property rights, innovation, or technology development. Because the plaintiff group and the U.S. government defendants have been unsuccessful so far in establishing the process for suspending liquidation of unliquidated entries, the CIT has adjusted the following deadlines:
- The U.S. government defendants now have until August 6, 2021 to establish a repository for the funds;
- Both the plaintiff group and the U.S. government defendants have until August 6, 2021 to submit additional proposed modifications to the July 6 preliminary injunction order;
- The parties will appear before the CIT on July 23, 2021 and on August 2, 2021 for status conferences, where both parties must “bring an individual authorized to make decisions for the respective Party”; and
- The temporary restraining order deadline on CBP liquidations of unliquidated entries has been extended from August 3, 2021 until September 2, 2021.