Walmart Joins Section 301 Litigation, Argues Tariffs Are Unconstitutional

Walmart threw its hefty weight behind the Section 301 litigation inundating the U.S. Court of International Trade, joining thousands of other importers Monday in seeking to get the Lists 3 and 4A Chinese tariffs vacated and the duties refunded. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative overstepped 1974 Trade Act authority when it waged the retaliatory tariffs against the Chinese and violated the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act with rulemakings lacking transparency, said Walmart’s complaint (in Pacer), mirroring virtually all the 3,500 others filed since beginning in mid-September. Walmart also joined about two dozen smaller importers to argue the Lists 3 and 4A duties are “unlawful and unconstitutional” because only Congress has the power of taxation. The levies also “were enacted contrary to the Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process of law,” said Walmart. From statements made by President Donald Trump and others in his administration, “an additional, if not the sole, reason and purpose for the List 3 additional duties was to collect revenue,” said the complaint. “To the extent the List 3 additional duties were revenue collection measures, they were beyond the scope of actions USTR was authorized to take by the Trade Act of 1974.” USTR didn’t comment Tuesday.