President, USTR Had ‘Discretionary’ Power to Levy Tariffs: DOJ
DOJ filed a motion with the U.S. Court of International Trade 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…
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Office of the U.S. Trade Representative exceeded “statutory authority” under the Trade Act when it ratcheted up the Lists 3 and 4A tariffs on Chinese imports, nor did its actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, said the government’s 77-page filing in docket 1:21-cv-52 (in Pacer). USTR implementation of the duties in response to China’s “increasingly aggressive and discriminatory trade practices” was “wholly discretionary and thus non-justiciable” under the Trade Act, said DOJ. China’s refusal to “cease its unlawful practices,” and instead pressure the U.S. to drop its Section 301 tariffs by adopting retaliatory measures, “revealed” that the “initial action” imposing the Lists 1 and 2 duties was “insufficient,” it said. Akin Gump lawyers for HMTX-Jasco declined comment Tuesday. Their Sept. 21 HMTX-Jasco complaint argued that the Trade Act doesn’t authorize the defendants “to litigate a vast trade war for however long, and by whatever means, they choose.”