Mouser Electronics, one of several firms sued this week in a Texas state court for allegedly not doing enough to ensure the semiconductor parts they sell don't end up in Russian or Iranian hands (see 2512110054), said they will respond to the matter in court. “We deeply respect the legal process and will respond to this matter in court, versus the media,” said Kevin Hess, senior vice president of marketing at Mouser Electronics.
DOJ's Trade Fraud Task Force plans to model its tariff enforcement efforts after the DOJ Health Care Fraud Unit's "data-drive playbook to develop leads," DOJ Criminal Division Senior Counsel Cody Herche said at the American Conference Institute's annual anti-corruption conference, according to attorneys at Morgan Lewis. The attorneys said Herche's comment indicates "potential criminal violations of US tariff laws," including the False Claims Act and the statute against smuggling goods into the U.S.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Nov. 25 opened a solicitation for applications to join the roster of individuals that may serve on binational dispute panels set up under USMCA.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Oct. 15 that he would like to attend the Nov. 5 oral argument at the Supreme Court regarding whether he can use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs. After declaring that the tariffs he has imposed are essential for economic and national security matters, Trump said: "I'm going to go to the Supreme Court to watch it. I've not done that, and I've had some pretty big cases."
The Federal Maritime Commission is reviewing a federal court decision issued this week that said the FMC’s 2024 demurrage and detention billing rule (see 2402230049) arbitrarily and capriciously exempted motor carriers from being assessed those fees (see 2509230039). "The Commission is reviewing the court's opinion and will take appropriate action going forward," a commission spokesperson said in a Sept. 24 email.
Importers who have paid tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act should look to affirmatively safeguard their right to receive refunds should the Supreme Court vacate in some form President Donald Trump's tariffs imposed under the statute, various law firms said. The attorneys issued the alerts in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to hear two cases on the legality of IEEPA tariffs on an expedited basis (see 2509090058).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will likely rule against the Trump administration in the lead case on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, though it's unclear under what exact rationale the court will do so, said Peter Harrell, a former National Security Council official during the Biden administration.
Former trade lawyer Scott Lincicome, who now leads the libertarian Cato Institute's trade division, said the administration learned the natural consequences of Section 301 tariffs when Chinese goods flow to India, Mexico and Vietnam as inputs to manufactured goods that are created in those countries.
The Court of International Trade's decision to vacate the executive orders imposing tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn't "withstand close scrutiny," NYU Law School professor Samuel Estreicher and recent law school grad Andrew Babbit said in a blog post.
Georgetown Law School Professor Jennifer Hillman, a former International Trade Commissioner and member of the World Trade Organization's appellate body, said she thinks there are grounds for a challenge to 25% tariffs on autos and auto parts, imposed on national security grounds under Section 232.