HMTX Industries and Jasco Products, the initial filers of the Section 301 litigation seeking to vacate the lists 3 and 4A tariff rulemakings and get the duties refunded, strongly oppose the Department of Justice’s prolonged briefing format and schedule proposed Oct. 19 in a motion for case management procedures (see 2010200022), Akin Gump said in a response Oct. 22 at the Court of International Trade. Under the government’s proposal, the parties would not begin to argue the “merits of this dispute” before 2022 or beyond, it said. “Given the ongoing harms to thousands of plaintiffs, among others, that protracted schedule is unacceptable.”
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Oct. 12-18:
Chief Judge Timothy Stanceu of the U.S. Court of International Trade should “automatically stay” all but the lead HMTX Industries-Jasco Products complaint in the Section 301 litigation (see 2009110041) and designate HMTX-Jasco as the “test case,” said DOJ’s motion (in Pacer) Monday to adopt case management procedures. All of the nearly 3,600 complaints inundating the CIT seek to vacate the List 3 and 4A tariff rulemakings and get the duties refunded. The roster of complaints (in Pacer) attached to DOJ’s motion takes up 187 pages.
Grunfeld Desiderio counseled clients in the Section 301 litigation to consider a “sliding scale” of options on filing timely complaints within the two-year statute of limitations window that qualifies importers to recover duties paid if the suits are successful, partner Ned Marshak said in an Oct. 19 interview. The firm filed more than 800 of the nearly 3,600 complaints inundating the Court of International Trade. Its Sept. 16 complaint on behalf of YC Rubber was the first to follow Akin Gump's suit for lead plaintiff HMTX Industries.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Oct. 13-16 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Chief Judge Timothy Stanceu of the U.S. Court of International Trade should “automatically stay” all but the lead HMTX Industries-Jasco Products complaint in the Section 301 litigation and designate HMTX-Jasco as the “test case,” the Department of Justice said in an Oct. 19 motion to adopt case management procedures. All the nearly 3,600 complaints inundating the CIT seek to vacate the lists 3 and 4A tariff rulemakings and get the duties refunded. The roster of complaints attached to DOJ’s motion takes up 187 pages.
Grunfeld Desiderio counseled clients in the Section 301 litigation to consider a “sliding scale” of options on filing timely complaints within the two-year statute of limitations window that qualifies importers to recover duties paid if the suits are successful, partner Ned Marshak told us Monday. The firm filed more than 800 of the nearly 3,600 complaints inundating the U.S. Court of International Trade. Its Sept. 16 complaint (in Pacer) on behalf of YC Rubber was the first to follow Akin Gump's suit for lead plaintiff HMTX Industries.
A steel importer will receive refunds of Section 232 tariffs under a settlement that resolves its legal challenge of denied exclusion requests. Approved Oct. 15 by the Court of International Trade, the settlement directs CBP to reliquidate some entries covered by exclusions Borusan Mannesman Pipe U.S. had alleged were improperly denied by the Commerce Department. The government did not admit liability under the settlement.
An Akin Gump spokesperson declined comment Tuesday on the strategies it will deploy in litigating an end to the Lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports. The complaint it filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade on behalf of HMTX Industries and Jasco Products alleges the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative overstepped its 1974 Trade Act authority in imposing the third and fourth rounds of tariffs and that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act by running sloppy and nontransparent rulemakings. The complaint seeks to have the rulemakings vacated and the tariffs refunded. Strong parallels exist between the complaint and List 3 comments Akin Gump helped CTA draft in 2018 (see 2010120002). The CIT should deny DOJ’s motion for case management procedures to navigate through the thousands of Section 301 complaints (see 2009240040), argued Snell & Wilmer in an opposition letter (in Pacer) Tuesday in docket 1:20-cv-00177. The firm represents online retailer Shop247.com (in Pacer) and residential electrical supplier L’Image Home Products (in Pacer) in complaints filed Sept. 18. DOJ served its motion only through Akin Gump and not through the 3,500 other lawyers, in violation of CIT rules, said the letter. DOJ requested an immediate stay of the cases other than HMTX-Jasco, but granting it would deprive all the other lawyers “of the opportunity to advocate on their clients’ behalves in any meaningful way,” it said. Snell & Wilmer agrees the "high volume" of cases challenging the Section 301 tariffs "likely requires the Court to implement case-management procedures," it said. But the CIT "should be provided an opportunity to hear the legal and factual arguments of every party asserting claims in these related matters," it said. DOJ didn’t respond to questions Wednesday.
An Akin Gump spokesperson declined comment Tuesday on the strategies it will deploy in litigating an end to the Lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports. The complaint it filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade on behalf of HMTX Industries and Jasco Products alleges the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative overstepped its 1974 Trade Act authority in imposing the third and fourth rounds of tariffs and that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act by running sloppy and nontransparent rulemakings. The complaint seeks to have the rulemakings vacated and the tariffs refunded. Strong parallels exist between the complaint and List 3 comments Akin Gump helped CTA draft in 2018 (see 2010120002). The CIT should deny DOJ’s motion for case management procedures to navigate through the thousands of Section 301 complaints (see 2009240040), argued Snell & Wilmer in an opposition letter (in Pacer) Tuesday in docket 1:20-cv-00177. The firm represents online retailer Shop247.com (in Pacer) and residential electrical supplier L’Image Home Products (in Pacer) in complaints filed Sept. 18. DOJ served its motion only through Akin Gump and not through the 3,500 other lawyers, in violation of CIT rules, said the letter. DOJ requested an immediate stay of the cases other than HMTX-Jasco, but granting it would deprive all the other lawyers “of the opportunity to advocate on their clients’ behalves in any meaningful way,” it said. Snell & Wilmer agrees the "high volume" of cases challenging the Section 301 tariffs "likely requires the Court to implement case-management procedures," it said. But the CIT "should be provided an opportunity to hear the legal and factual arguments of every party asserting claims in these related matters," it said. DOJ didn’t respond to questions Wednesday.