A Wisconsin man filed a pro se lawsuit at the Court of International Trade challenging the president's ability to impose tariffs, arguing that any attempt by the president to levy import duties represents an improper delegation of power under the U.S. Constitution. The individual, Gary Barnes, said imposing tariffs "is not within the jurisdiction of the President's duties," noting that the power to levy tariffs rests solely with Congress (Gary L Barnes v. United States President Donald Trump, CIT # 25-00043).
The U.S. could use the False Claims Act to more aggressively combat tariff evasion, attorneys at Ropes & Gray said in a Feb. 3 alert. Companies should "carefully scrutinize their import policies and procedures to ensure they are adhering to all applicable laws," the firm said, adding that importers should ensure that they have "appropriate avenues" for internal and external parties to bring confidential reports to the company's attention.
The following lawsuit has been filed recently at the Court of International Trade:
The U.S. on Feb. 3 brought a complaint against importer Shunny Corp., doing business as Sampac Enterprises, alleging that the company negligently misreported the country of origin of its health products to avoid import duties. The government is seeking nearly $200,000 in unpaid duties, along with a nearly $1.4 million penalty (United States v. Shunny Corp., CIT # 25-00039).
The U.S. moved to dismiss importer Houston Shutters' case at the Court of International Trade filed under Section 1581(c) against the Commerce Department's "unpublished determination not to initiate a changed circumstances review." The government said the decision not to start the CCR isn't a decision listed under either 19 U.S.C. § 1516a or 1517, either of which would give the trade court jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1581(c) (Houston Shutters v. United States, CIT # 24-00175).
The U.S. opposed a motion from importer Quantified Operations seeking to compel the government to produce unredacted internal CBP communications on the classification of the company's 3D printing pens, arguing at the Court of International Trade that the communications are irrelevant and otherwise protected by the "deliberative-process privilege" (Quantified Operations v. United States, CIT # 22-00178).
The Commerce Department erred in using a country-wide adverse facts available rate in calculating the antidumping duty rate for the separate rate respondents, importers led by Galleher Corp. argued in an opening brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Galleher argued the use of the AFA rate "punishes" the separate rate firms for respondent Sino-Maple's "lack of cooperation" and leads to an "aberrational margin that does not bear any relationship to the actual dumping margins of the separate rate companies" (Fuson Jinlong Wooden Group Co. v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 25-1196).
China opened a dispute at the World Trade Organization on Feb. 5 to challenge the new 10% tariff imposed by the U.S. on all goods from China, claiming that the measure violates the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. China said that not only do the duties violate the U.S. government's "Schedule of Concessions and Commitments," they're also "discriminatory and protectionist in nature."
South Africa has launched a safeguard investigation on corrosion-resistant steel coil, the South African government told the World Trade Organization's Committee on Safeguards. The investigation started Jan. 17 and covers "certain flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel" and "certain flat-rolled products of other alloy steel." South Africa said interested parties should make themselves known within 20 days of the start of the investigation.
President Donald Trump nominated William Kimmitt, current partner at Kirkland & Ellis, to serve as head of the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration. Kimmitt served in the first Trump administration as counsel to the U.S. trade representative and was involved in the implementation of the USMCA. At Kirkland & Ellis, Kimmitt is a litigation partner, focusing on international trade and Section 337 unfair import investigation proceedings.