CIT Grants Preliminary Injunction in Section 301 Litigation

The Court of International Trade will stop liquidation of unliquidated entries subject to the List 3 or 4A Section 301 China tariffs imported by the thousands of plaintiffs in the Section 301 litigation, a majority of judges on the three-judge CIT panel said in a July 6 opinion that granted a preliminary injunction. "To give the parties time to implement appropriate procedures, gather pertinent information, and otherwise take necessary action to comply with this order, the court will temporarily restrain liquidation of any unliquidated entries of merchandise imported from China by any plaintiffs in the Section 301 Cases which are subject to List 3 or List 4A duties," it said.

Dissenting from the majority of the panel's decision, Chief Judge Mark Barnett said that the plaintiffs failed to establish a likelihood of irreparable harm in absence of the injunction. Barnett said that there is no likelihood for irreparable harm for the plaintiffs since the court can simply issue reliquidation or a money judgment for the imports assessed the List 3 and 4A tariffs.