Opposing sides in the Section 301 litigation sparred heatedly in the closing minutes of oral argument June 17 (see 2106170061) about the role the plaintiffs’ steering committee should play should the Court of International Trade grant the motion of sample-case plaintiffs HMTX and Jasco for a preliminary injunction to freeze the liquidations of unliquidated customs entries from China with lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure.
The three-judge panel in the Section 301 litigation at the Court of International Trade peppered a government lawyer with tough questions June 17 when the judges asked the Department of Justice to explain how its opposition to a court-ordered reliquidation, or money judgment, if the plaintiffs win the case, doesn’t support a finding of irreparable harm for the importers. Oral argument lasting nearly 80 minutes was held on the preliminary injunction (PI) motion Akin Gump filed April 23 for sample-case plaintiffs HMTX Industries and Jasco Products to freeze liquidation of unliquidated customs entries from China with lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure.
Oral argument is scheduled for 10 a.m. on June 17 on a motion for a preliminary injunction to freeze liquidation of unliquidated entries from China with lists 3 or 4A tariff exposure in the ongoing litigation over the tariffs led by HMTX and Jasco at the Court of International Trade (see 2106140056). The public can listen through a dial-in audio feed by calling 1-855-244-8681, access code 172 077 0162. There is no need to register to listen to the proceeding, CIT said on its website.
The U.S. Court of International Trade scheduled oral argument for 10 a.m. June 17 via Webex on the preliminary injunction Section 301 sample case plaintiffs HMTX Industries and Jasco Products seek to freeze the liquidation of unliquidated customs entries from China with lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure. Akin Gump lawyers for HMTX and Jasco last week asked for oral argument (see 2106070017). They filed for the injunction April 23 after the government refused to stipulate that the plaintiffs will be entitled to refunds of liquidated entries if they win the litigation and the court declares the tariffs unlawful. The Justice Department opposes the injunction.
Akin Gump lawyers for the Section 301 sample case plaintiffs, HMTX Industries and Jasco Products, asked the Court of International Trade to hold oral argument on the preliminary injunction they seek to freeze the liquidation of unliquidated entries from China with lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure. “This unprecedented litigation concerns billions of dollars, over 3,800 separate lawsuits, and an even larger number of individual plaintiffs,” their June 4 motion said. They filed for the injunction April 23 after the government refused to stipulate that the plaintiffs will be entitled to refunds of liquidated entries if they win the litigation and the court declares the tariffs unlawful. The government opposes the injunction and stands by its refusal of the stipulation due to the “uncertainty” of the case law on refund relief, it said May 14 (see 2105170007).
The Department of Justice motioned the Court of International Trade late June 1 to dismiss the HMTX-Jasco sample case in the massive Section 301 litigation for “failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” HMTX-Jasco can’t establish that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative exceeded its “statutory authority” under the 1974 Trade Act when it ratcheted up the lists 3 and 4A tariffs on Chinese imports, nor did its actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) “as they were not arbitrary and capricious,” the government’s 77-page filing in docket 1:21-cv-52 said.
“Good cause exists” for the Court of International Trade to grant Section 301 sample-case plaintiffs HMTX Industries and Jasco Products leave to reply to DOJ’s opposition to the preliminary injunction plaintiffs seek to freeze liquidation of unliquidated customs entries from China with lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure, said Akin Gump’s motion filed late May 20 in docket 1:21-cv-52.
The preliminary injunction that the Section 301 plaintiffs seek to freeze liquidations of unliquidated customs entries from China with lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure (see 2104260010) is “unwarranted,” falls short of the high legal "bar" required and “would impose an enormous administrative burden” on CBP when the agency’s resources already are stretched thin, DOJ’s May 14 opposition argued at the Court of International Trade. Importers filed for the injunction April 23 after DOJ wouldn't stipulate it would support refunds of liquidated entries if the plaintiffs won the litigation and the tariffs were ruled unlawful.
A group of importers involved in the litigation over the Section 301 tariffs sent a letter on May 7 to the White House urging a settlement in the case to "alleviate the economic and social harms these tariffs have caused to U.S. companies, U.S. workers and the overall U.S. economy." Led by the importers selected to serve as the test case for the litigation, HMTX Industries and Jasco Products Company, the companies told the White House they are seeking an end to the tariffs and a full refund of the "unlawfully" collected lists 3 and 4A duties collected from the companies. The case is currently making its way through the Court of International Trade.
Tesla filed a lawsuit challenging the imposition of lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs on China, becoming the latest company to join the litigation involving more than 3,700 other cases. In an April 30 complaint filed with the Court of International Trade, Tesla, as an importer of goods subject to the Section 301 tariffs, launched its lawsuit, which will be subject to an automatic stay pursuant to a recent administrative order from the court (see 2104290048). The order pauses all filings challenging the tariffs that are not placed under the HMTX and Jasco Products test case.