Importer Asks CIT to Set Aside Stay of Suit on End of de Minimis
Detroit Axle, the company challenging President Donald Trump's decision to eliminate the de minimis threshold on goods from China, moved to set aside the Court of International Trade's stay of its case pending the lead suit on tariff action taken under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The company said while the relief it's seeking initially overlapped with the relief sought by the plaintiffs in the lead tariff suit, that's "no longer the case" in light of Trump's recent executive order rescinding the de minimis threshold globally (Axle of Dearborn d/b/a Detroit Axle v. United States, CIT # 25-00091).
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The president's new executive order says "the global rescission will remain in force regardless of whether the prior executive orders imposing tariffs under IEEPA are held unlawful," Detroit Axle noted. The end of the de minimis threshold isn't being challenged by the plaintiffs in the lead IEEPA tariff suit, making any injunction issued in the lead case to be "highly unlikely to extend to the order and provide Detroit Axle complete relief," the brief said.
In issuing tariffs on China under IEEPA, Trump simultaneously used the same executive order to eliminate the de minimis threshold for goods from China. When it ruled against the administration's IEEPA tariffs, the Court of International Trade vacated the entire executive order on tariffs on goods from China, simultaneously eliminating Trump's move to end the de minimis exemption for Chinese goods (see 2505280068).
This was the basis on which the trade court stayed Detroit Axle's case. CIT said any relief sought by the importer would be achieved by the lead case on IEEPA tariffs, V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump. Detroit Axle says in light of Trump's new order ending de minimis for all countries, "any relief granted in V.O.S. almost certainly will not reach the Global De Minimis Order and therefore will not provide Detroit Axle complete relief."
Concurrently renewing its motion for summary judgment at the trade court, Detroit Axle said Trump's de minimis order "exceeds the Executive’s statutory and constitutional authority, and the agency actions implementing the rescission were arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act." Building on its prior briefing, the importer said IEEPA can't be used to skirt the de minimis statute's provisions for modifying or eliminating the de minimis threshold, which involves notice-and-comment rulemaking under the APA.