Trade Court Finds USTR Had Authority to Impose Lists 3, 4A Tariffs

The U.S. Court of International Trade dealt a serious blow to the more than 3,600 lawsuits challenging Lists 3 and 4A Section 301 China tariffs, finding that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative had the authority to impose those tariffs. In the highly anticipated opinion, the court ruled against the plaintiffs' argument that the USTR could not impose Section 301 tariffs because the government was responding to retaliatory tariffs from China.

The opinion also marked a partial loss for the importers, as the court remanded the matter back to USTR after ruling that the agency failed to adequately respond to comments submitted in advance of the tariffs, as it was required to do under the Administrative Procedure Act. The court's three-judge panel ruled that the tariffs may remain in place while the agency reconsiders its action pertaining to these comments. USTR now has until June 30 to return to the court with a response to the remand.Plaintiffs had argued in Feb. 1 oral argument that vacating the tariffs was the only proper remedy if the court found USTR acted improperly under the APA. DOJ said remand would be the only proper remedy.