Oman Fasteners Readying SCOTUS Petition in Suit on Section 232 'Derivative' Duties

Exporter Oman Fasteners is drafting its own petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the U.S. in the case on then-President Donald Trump's expansion of the Section 232 duties to include steel and aluminum "derivative" products. In an Aug. 21 letter to the high court, counsel for Oman Fasteners said that as a plaintiff-appellee aligned with importer PrimeSource Building Products -- the lead appellee in the suit at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit -- it supports PrimeSource's cause and will file a brief "within the timeframe permitted" by the law and the court's rules (PrimeSource Building Products v. United States, Sup. Ct. # 23-69).

PrimeSource filed its petition in July, asking the Supreme Court to take up its case to settle ambiguity in the statutes delegating "vast legislative power to the Executive in favor of restraining the delegation" (see 2307270028). The importer further claimed that the case "presents an ideal vehicle" for settling questions of "great doctrinal and practical significance."

In the case, the Federal Circuit said Trump legally expanded the duties to cover derivative products beyond procedural time limits. So long as the Section 232 move follows the original plan of action laid out by the commerce secretary in his report to the president preceding the duties, the action is legal, the court said.