The likelihood of the Supreme Court striking down President Donald Trump's tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is a "coin flip," various attorneys said during a Sept. 30 webinar hosted by The Budget Lab, a policy research center at Yale University. Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute, an amicus in the IEEPA tariffs cases, noted a "very clear split" among trade lawyers and constitutional lawyers as to where the Supreme Court will come out on this issue.
The chief negotiator for the European Union, Maros Sefcovic, said that while the EU has a reputation for having "very complicated rules and regulations," that doesn't compare to the burden on companies trying to quantify how much steel (and its cost at the time it was sourced) went into making a Bosch refrigerator, Miele dishwasher or a BMW motorcycle.
Section 232 tariffs on timber, lumber and their derivatives will take effect Oct. 14, under a proclamation issued by President Donald Trump. Tariffs will be set at 10% for timber and lumber, 25% for upholstered furniture and 25% on wooden cabinets and vanities.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that while the administration doesn't expect to lose its tariff case at the Supreme Court, "wherever we end up," the approach will be similar to what it is now.
A recent CBP ruling, HQ H347879, indicates that CBP is scrutinizing the evidence that importers give to the agency when trying to prove that a bona fide sale has taken place.
As seen in recent rulings and CBP audits on first sale, CBP is asking for more information supporting importers' claims of bona fide sales and arms' length sales, Kelly Nelson, managing director of tax, trade and customs at KPMG, said during a Sept. 25 webinar.
The U.S. government will try to make it very difficult for tariffs enacted through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to be refunded should the Supreme Court vacate them, according to trade lawyer Michael Roll.
The scope of the products covered by 100% U.S. tariffs on "patented and branded medicines" is unclear, though both the EU and Japan will only be hit with 15% tariffs, a White House official told several news outlets.
The FDA issued a final rule Sept. 25 that will set a 10-day deadline for submissions of prior notices for food shipments refused because of no prior notice or an inaccurate one, and a 30-day deadline for submissions of food facility registrations (FFR) for shipments held because a facility is unregistered. The changes take effect Oct. 27.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Sept. 25 upheld the lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs on China, finding them to be a valid exercise of authority under Section 307(a)(1)(C). CAFC Judges Todd Hughes and Alan Lourie, along with Eastern District of Texas Judge Rodney Gilstrap, sitting by designation, held that the statute's permission to "modify" Section 301 action where it's "no longer appropriate," allows the U.S. trade representative to ramp up the tariffs if the original action is "insufficient" to achieve its "stated purpose."