CIT Rejects Faster Briefing Schedule in Suit on End of de Minimis for Chinese Products
The Court of International Trade on June 16 denied importer Detroit Axle's request that the trade court reconsider its briefing schedule on its motion for a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump's decision to eliminate the de minimis threshold for goods from China. As a result, the U.S. reply to the PI motion is due June 20 and the importer's reply is due on July 7 (Axle of Dearborn, d/b/a Detroit Axle v. Dep't of Commerce, CIT # 25-00091).
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Detroit Axle sought a faster briefing schedule, claiming the current schedule "effectively grants victory to the government," since Detroit Axle needs relief by the end of June, otherwise "it will likely be forced to shutter most or all of its business and lay off hundreds of employees." The company said every day that passes without relief "brings new irreparable harm to the company in the form of lost business opportunities, customer goodwill, and reputation."
Detroit Axle filed suit last month to challenge the order's elimination of de minimis for Chinese products as a violation of the de minimis statute (see 2505220063). The importer argued that if Trump wanted to eliminate the de minimis exemption, he had to do it through notice-and-comment rulemaking.
Most recently, the U.S. argued the case should be stayed pending resolution of the separate International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs case currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in which CIT ruled that the IEEPA tariff executive orders -- which also ended de minimis -- should be vacated (see 2506020013). The trade court denied the government's motion to stay without prejudice.