Importers to Appeal Massive Section 301 Case After CIT Opinion

Importers in the massive litigation over President Donald Trump's Section 301 action on China will appeal Court of International Trade rulings upholding the tariffs. Pratik Shah, counsel for lead plaintiffs HMTX Industries and Jasco Products, said he believes the importers' arguments are strong.

"Former President Trump flouted congressional limits in increasing tariffs seven-fold to cover virtually all trade with China, and [the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative] failed its obligations by rubberstamping that decision," Shah told the South China Morning Post. “But we’ll let our appeal briefing do the talking for us."

The trade court ruled March 17 that USTR complied with Administrative Procedure Act concerns previously raised by the court when it set lists 3 and 4A of the tariffs (see 2303170063). The three-judge panel of Mark Barnett, Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves ruled that USTR's responses to comments on the tariffs submitted on remand at CIT were not made impermissibly post hoc.

Christopher Kane, counsel for various importers attached to the litigation, wrote in a LinkedIn post that the "threshold for the USTR" to show its work that was accepted by the CIT "seems to many to be incredibly low." Kane said that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will "most certainly" review the trade court's decision.