PPE Importer Is First Section 301 Litigant to Name New USTR as Defendant

Personal protective equipment importer Radia Enterprises became the first complainant in the massive Section 301 litigation in the U.S. Court of International Trade to name new U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai as a defendant. The 1974 Trade Act doesn't authorize USTR “to engage in an indefinite trade war,” said the Friday complaint (in Pacer) from Radia, which does business as Spectrum Uniforms. Like the more than 3,700 other complaints flooding the court since September, it seeks a declaratory judgment that the tariffs are unlawful and a refund of the Lists 3 and 4A duties paid. Tai won Senate confirmation last Wednesday on a 98-0 vote (see 2103170042). She was sworn in late Thursday.