Supreme Court Denies Direct Hearing in Section 232 Constitutional Challenge; Case to Continue at CAFC
The Supreme Court on June 24 denied a petition from the American Institute for International Steel to hear the trade group’s challenge of the constitutionality of Section 232 tariffs on iron and steel products. AIIS and two steel importers had filed the Supreme Court challenge directly after the Court of International Trade found itself bound by precedent to rule in favor of the government (see 1904160027), despite some concerns that the president’s Section 232 authority may be overly broad (see 1903250032). The overall challenge will continue under an appeal filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, said AIIS lawyer and George Washington University law professor Alan Morrison.
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“AIIS is disappointed that the Supreme Court did not agree to hear this case at this time,” Morrison said. "However, this decision does not spell the end of our case. It is rare for the Supreme Court to agree to hear a case before a ruling by the Court of Appeals, and our appeal will now [be] heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit. We continue to believe that we have a strong legal case that section 232 is unconstitutional. Once the Federal Circuit has spoken, we expect that the losing party will ask the Supreme Court to review that decision,” he said.