Solar Panel Exporters Seeking More Time in Suit on Trump's Revocation of Section 201 Safeguard Exemption

Solar panel exporters are hoping to extend the deadline to file a petition for reheraing en banc with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a case on whether President Donald Trump legally revoked a Section 201 tariff exclusion on bifacial solar panels. Asking the court for 14 more days to file the petition, the exporters, led by the Solar Energy Industries Association, said "good cause" exists for the extension (Solar Energy Industries Association v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 22-1392).

Counsel for the exporters said the additional time was needed due to their "significant additional client responsibilities and obligations that substantially interfere with their ability to file the Petition" by the original Dec. 28 deadline, the brief said. The extension, to which all other parties agreed, would set the deadline on Jan. 11, 2024.

The Federal Circuit in November said Trump didn't clearly misconstrue the statute when he revoked the exclusion (see 2311130031). The court said that statute allows for trade-restricting modifications, as opposed to only trade-liberalizing ones, adding that the president is not required to reweigh the costs and benefits of a Section 201 modification, reversing the Court of International Trade's opinion.