Court Challenges of Section 301 Duties Possible but Unlikely to Succeed, CRS Says

A court challenge of any Section 301 tariffs imposed on China would be possible, but difficult, according to a Congressional Research Service report dated March 29. The Court of International Trade does have jurisdiction over Section 301 duties under 18 USC 1581(i), and has heard several cases on past Section 301 actions, the report said. But the challenger must clear a high bar to succeed, it said. Because Section 301 actions involve trade negotiations, the U.S. trade representative is given much deference by the court, possibly rendering USTR’s actions unreviewable under the Administrative Procedures Act, CRS said. “Because Section 301 investigations involve consultations with other countries and other foreign relations-related issues, a degree of discretion is afforded to the actions the USTR takes,” the report said. “What remains open to challenge before the courts, however, are allegations of statutory misinterpretations on the part of the USTR, violations of the statute’s procedures, actions that exceed the authority delegated to the USTR by statute, and similar claims,” it said.