Three new lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade Nov. 6 on the legality of President Donald Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as his authority to impose tariffs, on the day after the Supreme Court appeared skeptical about the validity of such tariffs. One suit was filed by three importers, led by Del Monte Fresh Produce and represented by customs lawyer Myron Barlow; another was filed by importer Turn5, represented by Crowell & Moring; and a third was filed by importer Netuno USA by trade lawyer Vinicius Adam (Del Monte Fresh Produce v. United States, CIT # 25-00244) (Netuno USA v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00245) (Turn5 v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CIT # 25-00246).

Various members of the trade bar speculated that the president's tariff authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act may face serious limits once the Supreme Court issues a decision in the lead cases on President Donald Trump's IEEPA tariffs. Following a Nov. 5 oral argument in which many of the justices appeared skeptical of Trump's sweeping use of the IEEPA to impose tariffs, many lawyers have said change may be coming in the world of trade.

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The first class-action lawsuit against the president’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs was filed Nov. 4 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Smirk & Dagger Games v. Donald J. Trump, D.D.C. # 1:25-03857).

Two Trump appointees, along with the three liberal justices, had sharp questions for the Trump administration's advocate as the Supreme Court held a nearly three-hour hearing on the constitutionality of tariffs imposed around the world under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Importer Topcon Positioning Systems on Nov. 3 told the Court of International Trade that its "laser levels" are "surveying instruments," properly classified under duty-free Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 9015.30.4000, which provides for "levels" used for "surveying." In a motion for summary judgment, Topcon also argued that its accessories are, "in turn," classified under duty-free subheading 9015.90.0030, which covers accessories of surveying instruments (Topcon Positioning Systems v. United States, CIT # 14-00189).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held oral argument on Nov. 4 in a pair of cases on the International Trade Commission's treatment of business proprietary information in injury proceedings. Judges Timothy Dyk, Richard Taranto and Raymond Chen pressed Courtney McNamara, counsel for the ITC, on the commission's policy of treating questionnaire submissions as confidential; on the Court of International Trade's separate authority to publicize information deemed confidential by the ITC; and on whether notice should be provided to the commission prior to the trade court's exercise of that authority (In Re United States, Fed. Cir. #s 24-1566, 25-127).

Importer Lanxess argued again Oct. 31 that its polymerization accelerator -- a substance used to accelerate the chemical process of plastic manufacturing -- is properly classified as a “supported catalyst,” not as a chemical preparation (Lanxess Corporation v. United States, CIT # 23-00073).

President Donald Trump on Nov. 2 said he won't attend the Supreme Court's oral argument on Nov. 5 on whether the president can use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he didn't want to call attention to himself, adding that "[i]t's not about me, it's about our country" (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, U.S. 24-1287).

The U.S. agreed to stay the effective date of an import ban for swimming crab fisheries in Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka pending the National Marine Fisheries Service's reconsideration of the comparability findings for these fisheries (National Fisheries Institute v. United States, CIT # 25-00223).