Trade Law Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
One hundred forty-eight members of the House of Representatives filed an amicus curiae brief May 16 saying the International Emergency Economic Powers Act wasn't intended to grant the president the power to levy tariffs (The State of Oregon v. Donald Trump, CIT # 25-00077).
California became the next International Emergency Economic Powers Act plaintiff to prepare to move for a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. It said May 13 it is providing notice it will be filing for an injunction on June 26 (State of California v. Donald J. Trump, N.D. Cal. # 3:25-03372).
The Court of International Trade on May 13 heard arguments in the lead case on the president's ability to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Judges Jane Restani, Gary Katzmann and Timothy Reif pressed counsel for the plaintiffs, the Liberty Justice Center's Jeffrey Schwab, and DOJ attorney Eric Hamilton on whether the court can review whether a declared emergency is "unusual and extraordinary," as well as the applicability of Yoshida International v. U.S., a key precedential decision on the issue, and whether the major questions doctrine applies and controls the case (V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, CIT # 25-00066).
The Institute for Policy Integrity, an economic law think tank housed at the NYU School of Law, filed an amicus brief in the lead case at the Court of International Trade on tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to discuss the "major questions" doctrine. The institute said the plaintiffs filing the case, represented by conservative legal advocacy group Liberty Justice Center, "do not fully state the doctrine or properly explain why it is triggered here" (V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, CIT # 25-00066).
A group of five small importers filed their opposition to the U.S. government's motion to transfer their case challenging President Donald Trump's tariffs imposed on China under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to the Court of International Trade. The importers, led by Simplified, argued that CIT doesn't have exclusive jurisdiction to hear the case because IEEPA doesn't provide for tariffs (Emily Ley Paper v. Donald J. Trump, N.D. Fla. # 3:25-00464).
The U.S. offered its most fulsome defense of President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs to date, submitting a reply to a group of five importers' motion for a preliminary injunction and summary judgment at the Court of International Trade on April 29. The government argued that the text, context, history and purpose of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act lets the president impose tariffs and that IEEPA doesn't confer an unconstitutional delegation of authority to the president (V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00066).
A group of constitutional scholars, lawyers, retired federal judges and former U.S. senators and politicians filed an amicus brief at the Court of International Trade in the case on President Donald Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs. The amici, led by former Virginia senator and governor George Allen, argued that IEEPA "cannot bear [the] weight" of Trump's trade action, adding that the statute only permits "limited and targeted actions under narrow conditions" and not "sweeping economic realignment" (V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00066).
The Court of International Trade on April 22 denied a group of five companies' application for a temporary restraining order against President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Judges Gary Katzmann, Timothy Reif and Jane Restani held that the companies "have not clearly shown a likelihood that immediate and irreparable harm would occur" before the court considers their motion for a preliminary injunction against the tariffs.
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).