Plaintiffs File Notice of Supplemental Authority of CBP Rulings in Case Over Section 232 Exclusions

Borusan Mannesmann and Gulf Coast Express Pipeline, plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to apply Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusions to their 19 entries, filed a notice of supplemental authority citing CBP rulings on classification of steel goods under Section 232 and Presidential Proclamation 9705 on the Section 232 tariffs to further support their arguments. The Department of Justice has moved to dismiss the case since the entries are unliquidated, precluding the Court of International Trade from having judicial review over the entries and the resulting tariff exclusion claims (Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret v. U.S., CIT #21-00186).

Oral argument is set for Jan. 26 on the motion to dismiss. The plaintiffs filed for jurisdiction under Section 1581(a), but DOJ said that a protestable decision needs to occur in order for a plaintiff to claim this jurisdiction, which DOJ says did not happen here (see 2108260062).