On August 28, 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a proposed rule to revise the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion process. The proposed rule responds to public comments received in response to BIS’s February 2022 Request for Public Comments. By proposing further revisions to the exclusion request process, BIS
WTO Rules China’s Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Imports Inconsistent with International Trade Agreements
In a landmark ruling on August 16, 2023, the World Trade Organization (WTO) determined that the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on U.S. imports in response to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs were inconsistent with international trade rules. The decision marks a significant moment in the long-standing trade dispute between the two major economic powers.
Petitioner Seeks U.S. Supreme Court Review of Decision Allowing Section 232 Tariffs on Steel Derivatives
On July 21, 2023, PrimeSource Building Products, Inc. filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, after unsuccessfully seeking an en banc hearing before all of the judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In that decision, a three-judge panel reversed a lower court decision and
Plaintiffs Seek Full Federal Circuit Rehearing of Decision Allowing Section 232 Tariffs on Steel Derivatives
On April 24, 2023, plaintiffs in an ongoing challenge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit filed a Petition for Rehearing En Banc of their argument that former President Donald Trump improperly imposed additional Section 232 national security tariffs on derivatives of certain imported steel articles. In their petition for consideration by
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Petition Challenging Section 232 Steel Tariffs
On March 27, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition by USP Holdings, Inc. and related parties challenging the Trump administration’s Section 232 tariffs on steel imports. The steel importer petitioners had asked the Court to reverse aspects of a June 2022 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (and
UPDATED: President Biden Issues Proclamations Increasing the Tariff Rates on Russian Aluminum to 200% and Significantly Increasing Rates on Other Russian Products
On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Joseph Biden on February 24, 2023, issued a Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum Into the United States to implement: (1) effective March 10, 2023, a 200% import tariff on aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles that are the products of Russia, and (2) effective
Federal Circuit Reverses CIT Decision and Allows Section 232 Tariffs on Steel Derivatives
On February 7, 2023, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued an opinion in PrimeSource Building Products, Inc. v. United States et al., Case No. 2021-2066, reversing a lower court decision and upholding the imposition of additional Section 232 national security tariffs on derivatives of certain imported
Commerce Section 232 Magnet Import Investigation Concludes Without Tariffs
On September 21, 2022, after a year-long Section 232 investigation, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that rare earth neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnet imports threaten national security. The investigation was initiated in September 2021 due to concerns that “critical national security systems rely on NdFeB permanent magnets, including fighter aircraft and
Federal Circuit Dismisses Broad Challenge to Section 232 Tariffs
In a June 9, 2022 opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit or CAFC) upheld the decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) dismissing Universal Steel Products Holding’s challenge to Section 232 tariffs that the Trump administration placed on steel imports. The plaintiffs had earlier challenged both
U.S. International Trade Commission to Investigate Effects of Section 232 and Section 301 Tariffs on U.S. Industries
On May 5, 2022, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced the initiation of a general factfinding investigation that will examine the impact of tariffs on U.S. imports under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in effect as of March 15, 2022. The