New Lawsuit Challenges Now-Lifted Section 232 Tariffs on Aluminum From Canada and Mexico

An importer has filed suit at the Court of International Trade, challenging the now-lifted Section 232 tariffs on aluminum products from Canada and Mexico. Koch Supply & Trading says that President Donald Trump violated the timelines in Section 232 when he imposed the tariffs at the beginning of June 2018 (see 1805310028). Koch also says CBP improperly denied its protest, and that the tariffs are unconstitutional.

Though the tariffs were lifted in May 2019 after coming to agreement with Canada and Mexico (see 1905170044), Koch says it paid more than $600,000 in tariffs on its imports of unwrought aluminum from Canada. It filed protests for each of its two entries, one of which was denied as untimely and the other as non-protestable. Koch says CBP’s denial of the latter protest was improper because the tariffs were unlawful.

Koch also broadly challenges the tariffs themselves based on the president’s purported non-adherence to statutory deadlines. Under Section 232, action is required within 15 days of determining imports present a threat to national security. Rather than put tariffs on Canada and Mexico when they were put in place worldwide in March 2018, Trump held off for further negotiations. But Koch claims that, while the U.S. negotiated with Canada and Mexico over the following months, there were no negotiations about the Section 232 tariffs specifically. As a result, the tariffs were required within the 15-day deadline, and were issued well past it.

And while Section 232 provides that one of the actions that may be taken is a 180-day period for negotiations, the tariffs were actually imposed only 70 days after the negotiations were announced. The resulting tariffs are also unlawful because Trump was required to wait 180 days, and did not, the complaint says.

Koch also alleges that Section 232 itself is an unconstitutional delegation of congressional authority, along the same lines of a lawsuit filed by the American Institute for International Steel currently pending before the Supreme Court (see 2003270043). Koch requests a declaration that the tariffs were illegal, as well as a permanent injunction “against the enforcement of any tariff on aluminum from Canada and Mexico” under the Section 232 tariffs. Koch also requested a refund of its own duties.

Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the complaint.