The end of reciprocal tariffs and tariffs imposed over fentanyl smuggling from China, Canada and Mexico is on hold until an appellate court decides if the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was illegal for those purposes.
Importer Seneca Foods told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that the government is trying to support the Commerce Department's denial of Seneca's request for Section 232 tariff exclusions by "stretching" the deference shown under the arbitrary and capricious standard to "cover decisions devoid of any supporting evidence." Filing a reply brief on May 23, Seneca said it submitted enough evidence to show that the U.S. industry didn't have the capacity to fill its steel orders at the time the foreign purchase orders were made and at the time the exclusion requests were filed (Seneca Foods Corp. v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 25-1310).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on May 23 denied the government's motion to dismiss four members of the Blackfeet Nation tribe's appeal of a Montana court's decision to transfer a case challenging various tariff actions to the Court of International Trade. The appellate court also stayed proceedings until the Montana court rules on the plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration of the transfer order (Susan Webber v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 9th Cir. # 25-2717).
The Court of International Trade on May 21 held a second hearing in as many weeks on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The same three judges, Jane Restani, Gary Katzmann and Timothy Reif, pressed both the government and counsel for 12 U.S. states challenging all IEEPA tariff actions on whether the statute allows for tariff action, as well as whether the courts can review if the declared emergencies are "unusual and extraordinary" and the extent to which the case is guided by Yoshida International v. U.S. (The State of Oregon v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00077).
Counsel for four members of the Blackfeet Nation tribe challenging certain tariff action taken by President Donald Trump said the Supreme Court's recent decision in AARP v. Trump supports its interlocutory appeal of a Montana district court's decision to transfer the case to the Court of International Trade (Susan Webber v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 9th Cir. # 25-2717).
The State of California and its governor, Gavin Newsom, filed an amici curiae brief on May 15 in a lawsuit brought by 12 U.S. states against all tariff action taken by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In it, the state made a bevy of statutory arguments against the government's interpretation of IEEPA, all of which are included in the state's own lawsuit against the IEEPA tariffs (The State of Oregon v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00077).
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).
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated April 29 - May 7 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
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 following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York: