Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said last week that Mexico can impose duties on U.S imports of chicken and pork legs in response to the U.S. Commerce Department’s notice that it will be ending the 2019 suspension of Mexican tomato duties. Her government is conducting antidumping investigations on both meat products, she noted.
CIT Says Several Components, Finishing Work for Sinks Shouldn't Have Been Included in Dutiable Value
The value of sink components and finishing work that either (1) wasn’t covered under the relevant antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders, or, (2) didn’t originate in China, shouldn’t have been included in the sinks’ dutiable value because the orders' language didn't specifically include them, Court of International Trade Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves ruled April 21. However, packaging costs should have been, she said.
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.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 21 held to a strict interpretation of the principle of finality of liquidation, ruling that the Court of International Trade can't consider equitable reasons for ordering reliquidation of finally liquidated entries. Judges Richard Taranto and Raymond Chen said the trade court can't order reliquidation beyond the statutory exceptions, which specifically refer to filing a protest with CBP or a civil action at the trade court. Judge Jimmie Reyna dissented from the ruling, arguing that the majority misapprehends CBP's protest procedures and improperly limits "CIT’s authority to enforce its judgments to a level that is inferior" to the full authority of an Article III court.
CBP has released its April 16 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 59, No. 16). It contains one ruling action, related to the tariff classification of Cub Cadet Utility Vehicles. It also includes four Court of International Trade slip opinions.
The state of California opened a lawsuit in the District Court for the Northern District of California on April 16 against President Donald Trump's ability to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs. The two-count complaint claims that Trump acted beyond his statutory authority granted by IEEPA to impose the "reciprocal" tariffs and the tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, and that Trump's tariff actions usurp legislative authority in violation of the U.S. Constitution (State of California v. Donald J. Trump, N.D. Cal. # 3:25-03372).
Five importers challenging the constitutionality of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as a source of tariff-setting authority plan to file a motion for a preliminary injunction in the coming days, counsel for the companies told us. Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, said the PI bid will request an injunction on the collection of all tariffs issued under the IEEPA.
The conservative Liberty Justice Center brought a lawsuit on behalf of five importers to challenge the constitutionality of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as a source of tariff-setting authority. The complaint, filed April 14 at the Court of International Trade, makes two claims: President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs exceed the president's statutory authority under IEEPA and, even if this statutory authority exists, it's an "unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority" (V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00066).
A group of five companies filed a complaint at the Court of International Trade challenging the president's authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The complaint, drafted by the conservative Liberty Justice Center, says President Donald Trump's use of IEEPA to impose "reciprocal" tariffs "exceeds his statutory authority." The lawsuit adds that even if IEEPA grants this authority, it amounts to an "unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority." The lawsuit is the third of its kind to challenge the use of IEEPA to impose tariffs but is the first to be filed at the trade court.
Counsel for two members of the Blackfeet Nation tribe that recently filed a lawsuit against the recent tariff action taken by President Donald Trump told us that she believes jurisdiction to be proper in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. Monica Tranel, the attorney for Montana state Sen. Susan Webber and rancher Jonathan St. Goddard, also said that she believes she can obtain a preliminary injunction against the spate of tariffs recently imposed on Canada due to the size of the harm to the agriculture and tourism industry in western Montana.