The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
A newly issued CBP ruling further clarifies how the agency determines country of origin for electric motors. After having recently found that the stator and the rotor are the “most essential components” of an electric motor and, under a substantial transformation analysis, determine the country of origin (see 2104210041), the agency on April 22 issued another ruling that considered motors where the rotor and stator were made in different countries, and found the stator assembly controlling.
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Chief Judge Mark Barnett of the Court of International Trade signed an administrative order April 28 that will automatically stay any new complaints filed in the massive Section 301 litigation before they are assigned to the three-judge panel he shares with Judges Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves. Any lawyer seeking to lift the stay of a new Section 301 case must first consult with the plaintiffs' steering committee at least three days before filing a motion and must show “good cause” for the exemption, the order said.
Chief Judge Mark Barnett of the U.S. Court of International Trade signed an administrative order that will automatically stay any new complaints filed in the massive Section 301 litigation before they are assigned to the three-judge panel he shares with Judges Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves.
Court of International Trade Chief Judge Mark Barnett suggested during an April 26 status conference that an automatic stay could be in order for all cases challenging Lists 3 and 4A of the Section 301 tariffs that are unassigned to the three-judge panel. The government defense and the 15-member steering committee representing the plaintiffs did not object. Under Barnett's suggested order, all new cases without assignment to the panel would automatically be stayed and would follow comparable procedures to other cases under the HMTX Industries and Jasco Products test case to lift the stay.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated April 27 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 following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Cases brought in the Court of International Trade that seek to challenge denied protests over granted exclusions to the Section 301 tariffs may eventually result in refunds for duties paid on excluded products, Ted Murphy of Sidley Austin said in an April 26 blog post. CBP is now “making its way through the incredible number of post-summary corrections and protests that were filed claiming refunds of Section 301 duties based on approved exclusions,” he said. “While most clients have had most of their refund requests approved, a handful of requests have been denied by CBP with limited explanation. Following up on the denials has not always produced satisfying results. As a result, we are filling (and have been seeing other firms file) suits” at the CIT.
The government’s response is due May 14 to Akin Gump’s motion April 23 on behalf of Section 301 sample case plaintiffs HMTX Industries and Jasco Products for a “protective preliminary injunction” freezing the liquidation of unliquidated customs entries from China with lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure unless DOJ agrees to a stipulation that refund relief would be available to the importers if they prevail in the litigation (see 2104230069). Akin Gump asked for the opportunity to file a reply brief “no longer than half the length” of DOJ’s May 14 response, and offered to voluntarily withdraw the motion if the government dropped its opposition and agreed to the refund stipulation.