CBP unlawfully detained 11 shipments of honey from importer Tri State Honey and held the entries for "nearly a year without explanation or justification," the importer argued in an April 29 complaint at the Court of International Trade. Seeking at least $4 million in damages along with attorney's fees, Tri State Honey said CBP violated its "due process rights" by failing to disclose the reasons for the detention of its honey and the evidence as to the honey's country of origin (Tri State Honey v. United States, CIT # 25-00080).
The U.S. offered its most fulsome defense of President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs to date, submitting a reply to a group of five importers' motion for a preliminary injunction and summary judgment at the Court of International Trade on April 29. The government argued that the text, context, history and purpose of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act lets the president impose tariffs and that IEEPA doesn't confer an unconstitutional delegation of authority to the president (V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00066).
The Pacific Legal Foundation, the libertarian legal advocacy group that recently brought a case against the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on behalf of 11 importers, has had "preliminary" talks with the other advocacy groups that have brought cases challenging the tariffs on whether to proceed with separate cases. Molly Nixon, attorney at the foundation, told us she's "in touch" with the two other groups who have brought cases against the tariffs, the New Civil Liberties Alliance and the Liberty Justice Center, but that nothing is confirmed about whether the groups will combine cases.
Labor advocacy group International Rights Advocates filed a lawsuit this week against Starbucks on behalf of eight individuals who were trafficked and forced to work on "Starbucks-controlled coffee plantations in Brazil." The complaint, brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks class certification for all trafficked laborers in Brazil and alleges that Starbucks knowingly benefitted from this slave labor, which took place on thousands of supplier plantations (John Doe I v. Starbucks Corporation, D.D.C. # 25-01261).
The 12 states that recently launched a lawsuit against all tariff action taken by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act will begin working on a preliminary injunction motion against the tariffs "in the near future," Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield told us. Rayfield was confident in the prospect of being able to show that Oregon and its many public institutions will suffer "irreparable harm" without the injunction and that a judge will be willing to question the validity of Trump's declaration that bilateral trade deficits amount to an "unusual and extraordinary" threat.
Twelve U.S. states led by Oregon filed a lawsuit April 23 against all of President Donald Trump's tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The states' complaint argues that Trump exceeded his authority as established in IEEPA, since the "annual U.S. goods trade deficits" are not an "unusual and extraordinary threat." The states also argue that neither the reciprocal tariffs, nor the tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico imposed to address drug trafficking, establish a sufficient nexus to the claimed emergencies (The State of Oregon v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00077).
Dominic Bianchi, former general counsel of the International Trade Commission, has joined Polsinelli as a shareholder in the firm's Section 337 litigation and trade remedies practice, the firm announced. Bianchi spent 24 years at ITC, serving as general counsel since 2013.
The U.S. joined a case against importer Barco Uniforms, companies that supply Barco and the two individuals that control the suppliers for allegedly violating the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying customs duties on apparel imports, DOJ announced. The suit was originally filed in 2016 under the FCA's whistleblower provision by Toni Lee, the former director of product commercialization at Barco. The U.S. intervened in the case, filing a complaint on April 11.
Hoshine Silicon (Jia Xiang) Industry Co. has constitutional and statutory standing to challenge a withhold release order on silica-based products made by its parent company, Hoshine Silicon, or its subsidiaries, the Court of International Trade held in a decision made public April 22. However, Judge Claire Kelly dismissed Jiaxing Hoshine's claim against CBP's issuance of the WRO for being untimely, finding that it was brought after the statute of limitations had run out.
The Court of International Trade cannot order the reliquidation of finally liquidated entries except where a protest has been filed or a civil action has been filed challenging an antidumping duty or countervailing duty determination, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held on April 21. Judges Richard Taranto and Raymond Chen held that the statute, 19 U.S.C. 1514, doesn't let the trade court order reliquidation based on equitable considerations.