Plaintiffs in Section 301 Case Get More Time to File Reply at Federal Circuit

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a text-only order on Dec. 22 gave plaintiffs in the massive Section 301 litigation more time to file their reply brief. The plaintiffs, led by HMTX Industries and Jasco Products, now have until Feb. 12 to file their reply after counsel for the companies said they needed more time due to their "significant additional client responsibilities and obligations that substantially interfere with their ability to file the reply brief by the current deadline" (HMTX Industries v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 23-1891).

The extension request comes on the heels of the U.S. reply brief, filed last week, in which the government claimed that the plaintiffs ignored the president's role in imposing the tariffs in attempting to impose an improper standard of review (see 2312220053). The U.S. also claimed that the "major questions" doctrine -- a legal theory that says the executive branch may regulate major elements of the economy only where explicitly delegated to do so by Congress -- is inapplicable and that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative had the proper statutory authority to impose the lists 3 and 4A tariffs.

The plaintiffs will respond to these arguments, along with the U.S. defense of USTR's actions under the Administrative Procedure Act. The companies' APA claim initially had success at the Court of International Trade but was resolved in favor of the government after USTR gave fuller explanations of its tariff actions.