The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Nov. 10-16:
As importers seek to recover the monies they paid in tariffs due to discovering they overpaid or because the Supreme Court may potentially rule that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs aren't valid, there are a number of pain points that they may be facing now or will be facing, according to panelists speaking on a Nov. 18 webinar hosted by KPMG.
United Autoworkers labor union members from John Deere and Caterpillar visited the Commerce Department last week, asking the agency to launch a Section 232 investigation on imports of heavy machinery and equipment.
Trade experts -- including the chief negotiator for the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement -- were puzzled by language in a joint statement on the recent Korea tariff deal Nov. 15.
The White House released a fact sheet Nov. 13 confirming details of the recent U.S.-South Korea tariff deal.
President Donald Trump may look to ramp up his use of sections 232 and 301 should the Supreme Court rule that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act can't be used for levying tariffs, various lawyers told us. However, the expanded use of these statutes, both as they are being used now and how they may be used to supplant the existing reciprocal and fentanyl trafficking tariffs, may encounter legal difficulties.
Should the Supreme Court rule that the tariffs administered under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are not valid, importers of record, who could potentially receive duty refunds, may also end up in legal battles with others who shared in the importer's tariff burden, founding member and principal of Sandler and Travis said during Flexport's Nov. 12 webinar on tariff trends.
The U.S. is eliminating 15% tariffs on Ecuadoran bananas and cocoa, and 10% tariffs on Guatemalan coffee and Argentinian beef, as the three countries have reached framework agreements on reciprocal trade.
As customs brokers and importers respond to sudden changes in U.S. trade compliance regulations, the trade will need to come up with new models that can allow companies to be nimble when those changes trickle down to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, trade expert Cindy Allen said recently at the Automotive Industry Action Group's North American Customs and Trade Town Hall on Nov. 6 in Detroit.
The Coalition for a Prosperous America, whose first CEO joined the Office of Management and Budget as associate director for economic policy (see 2502240005), is calling for replacing USMCA with two bilateral trade agreements. The CPA submitted comments for the USMCA six-year review.