On August 2, 2021, the plaintiff group in the ongoing Section 301 tariff refund litigation at the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) filed a Cross-Motion for Judgment on the Agency Record and a Response to the Government’s Motion to Dismiss. In seeking judgment and asking that the government defendants’ motion be denied, the
Tariffs/Trade Policy
Commerce Releases Uranium Section 232 National Security Report
Two years after former President Donald Trump announced that he would decline to take any further action on uranium imports despite a finding that uranium was being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States (see Update of…
Commerce Releases Electrical Transformers Section 232 National Security Report
On May 4, 2020, former Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the initiation of a Section 232 investigation into whether certain transformer components used in electrical power grids are imported in quantities that threaten national security. See SmarTrade Update of May 11, 2020. The investigation focused on transformers and transformer components (i.e.,…
Commerce Releases Vanadium Section 232 National Security Report
On June 2, 2020, former Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the initiation of a Section 232 investigation into whether the quantities or circumstances of imports of vanadium into the United States threaten to impair U.S. national security. This investigation was the result of a petition filed by U.S. producers AMG Vanadium LLC (Cambridge, Ohio)…
CIT Again Adjusts Deadlines in Section 301 Tariff Refund Litigation
On August 2, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) held a status conference and issued its second order revising certain deadlines originally 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.…
Commerce Releases Titanium Sponge Section 232 National Security Report
Nearly a year and a half after former President Donald Trump declined to impose Section 232 tariffs on imports of titanium sponge (see Update of February 28, 2020), the Department of Commerce has released its full public report on the investigation, which found that these imports indeed threatened to impair the national security…
CIT Adjusts Deadlines in Section 301 Tariff Refund Litigation
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…
Federal Trade Commission Issues Final Rule on “Made in USA” Claims
On July 14, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published in the Federal Register (86 Fed. Reg. 37022-35) its final rule for “Made in USA” and other “unqualified U.S.-origin claims” on product labels. The final rule is effective on August 13, 2021.
The final rule codifies a longstanding FTC policy and practice that a product…
Federal Circuit Reverses CIT on President’s Authority to Increase Section 232 Tariffs on Steel Imports from Turkey
On July 13, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) issued a majority 2-1 opinion reversing the ruling of the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) that former President Donald J. Trump violated the provisions of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Section 232) by increasing tariffs…
CIT Preliminarily Suspends Liquidation of Certain Entries Subject to China Section 301 Duties
On July 6, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an opinion granting the Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction in the ongoing China Section 301 tariff litigation. The preliminary injunction suspends liquidation of unliquidated entries subject to List 3 and List 4A Section 301 duties, which, the Plaintiffs allege, are not authorized…
